Quarter Mania Grips States.

Until the State Circulating Commemorative Quarter Dollar program (its official name) began in 1999, few people thought about the reverse side of George Washington's head in their change purse.

Now, minutemen from Massachusetts mingle with George Washington crossing the Delaware River, while Cesar Rodney rides from Delaware to Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence. The Statue of Liberty will lift its lamp to illuminate the New York quarter this month.

State quarters issued in 2001 and 2002 will commemorate New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana and Mississippi. These states have culled through thousands of proposed concepts trying to identify just a few design finalists that speak for their heritage.

Several state officials, primarily governors, have held contests and allowed citizens to vote on the final designs. And everyone from school children to professional artists have submitted designs. A 17-year-old submitted the most popular Indiana design, featuring a basketball player and race car. If the design meets with the approval of the U.S. Mint, you may be carrying it in your pocket in 2002.

Both North Carolina and Ohio are claiming the Wright Brothers and their historic plane for their quarters. North Carolina "went for broke" by submitting only a Wright Brothers design to the U.S. Mint.

Ohio submitted many designs; some use the state tree (buckeye) and the bird (cardinal) while others have an aviation and space exploration theme (Ohio is home to the Wright Brothers, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong). The proposal to place all seven presidents born in Ohio on one quarter was nixed as too cumbersome.

Rhode Island selected its final design, a sailboat on Narragansett Bay, from ballots cast at public libraries, the State House and on the governor's Web site. "The Bay defined our history, is at the core of our present and holds the key to the future," says Governor Lincoln Almond.

Tennessee's three final designs reflect women's suffrage (first state to ratify the 19th Amendment), the Native American Sequoyah and the state's musical heritage. Kentucky themes include horses, President Abraham Lincoln's birthplace and "My Old Kentucky Home." Louisiana is still in the design phase. Its quarter could include the pelican (state bird), a riverboat, the Louisiana Purchase or the state's French heritage.

The state quarter program has proved popular with everyone. Congress may even expand it to the District of Columbia and the territories under HR 5010. The bill passed the House and was referred to the Senate Banking Committee in September.