Exploring New Territories
2009-S Silver District of Columbia

Owner Comments:

Acqd: 22 Jan 11 Coin #009 in the set THE STORYFor most people, Washington DC represents the seat of the Federal Government of the United States of America. While I recognize the political significance of Washington DC, I prefer to think of it as the home of the Smithsonian Institute. Having visited our Nation’s Capitol several times in my life, my fondest memories are the adventures I have had in the Smithsonian. Now that my youngest children are getting older, I am hopeful that our future trips will be as awe filled as those of my youth had been.THE COIN Mintage Availability Silver Proof Sets:TBD Silver Quarter Proof Sets:TBD Total Silver Proof Population:TBD75.3% of all NCG graded Washington DC Silver Quarters are PF70UC. 17.1% of all PCGS graded Washington DC Silver Quarters are PF70DC.The obverse of the coin was designed by John Flanagan and subsequently modified by William Cousins. The reverse was designed by Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by Don Everhart. Composition: 90.0% silver, 10.0% copper Diameter: 24.26 mm Weight: 5.67 gms Thickness: 1.75 mm Edge: ReededWashington DC was founded in 1790 on land originally selected by George Washington. It became the capital of the United States on December 1, 1800. Controversial from its inception, Washington DC would provide some of the biggest controversy in the Mint’s Quarter Programs. All of the initial designs included the motto “Taxation without Representation” and the U.S. Mint rejected all of those designs because of the motto. Washington DC finally relented and settled on the motto “Justice for All”. While it may seem like an amicable compromise, the implication of the motto is that citizens of Washington DC do not receive justice. The Washington DC quarter features native son Duke Ellington sitting at his piano, the motto “Justice for All” directly below him and Washington DC arched around the top of the coin. Interestingly enough, in the Duke’s hand is a piece of paper ostensibly a piece of sheet music but in reality that paper represents the boundaries of the District of Columbia. The citizens of Washington DC selected the design for the quarter by voting for their favorite of three designs with the Duke Ellington design getting 36% of the vote to win the selection.The first of the other two designs had Fredrick Douglas on the left side of the design sitting at his iconic roll top desk which was on the right. The motto “Justice for All” was arched under “of Columbia” on the top right and “Fredrick Douglass” was center between him and the desk. The second design featured Benjamin Banneker working with his surveying equipment in a fashion similar to the design of the 1980 $0.13 stamp that also featured Banneker. Banneker was framed in a diamond representing the boundaries of the District of Columbia. Banneker’s name was written along the outside of the bottom left boundary and the Motto “Justice for All” was written along the bottom right boundary.