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The fourth commemorative quarter-dollar coin released in 2007 honors Wyoming, and is the 44th coin in the United States Mint's 50 State Quarters® Program. Wyoming, nicknamed the "Equality State," was admitted into the Union on July 10, 1890, becoming our Nation's 44th state. The reverse of Wyoming's quarter features a bucking horse and rider with the inscriptions "The Equality State," "Wyoming" and "1890."
The bucking horse and rider symbolize Wyoming's Wild West heritage. "Buffalo Bill" Cody personified this in his traveling Wild West show. First settled by fur trappers, Fort Laramie, Wyoming, later became a popular destination for pioneers traveling the Oregon Trail.
Wyoming was nicknamed the "Equality State" because of its historical role in establishing equal voting rights for women. Wyoming was the first territory to grant "female suffrage" and became the first state in the Nation to allow women to vote, serve on juries and hold public office. In 1924, Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first woman elected Governor of Wyoming. In 1933, Ross became the first woman appointed as the Director of the United States Mint.
In 2004, Governor Dave Freudenthal formed the Wyoming Coinage Advisory Committee, which includes 13 Wyoming historians and other experts. The State invited citizens to submit narratives, and approximately 3,200 were accepted over a three-month period. Governor Freudenthal then recommended five concepts that were developed into design candidates by the United States Mint sculptor-engravers and artists in the United States Mint's Artistic Infusion Program. On May 12, 2006, Governor Freudenthal announced his recommendation of the bucking horse and rider design.
The Department of the Treasury approved the design on June 22, 2006. Four other designs were considered, including "Bucking Horse and Rider with State Outline;" "Bucking Horse and Rider with Teton Range;" "Bucking Horse and Rider in typical Wyoming scene," depicting a horse and rider on a ranch; and "Yellowstone National Park — Old Faithful Geyser," featuring the famous geyser located in Yellowstone National Park.