Wyoming Quarter

Am I the only one who thinks that the new Wyoming quarter is boring, plain, and just overall really lame?

Let's take a look at it:



Just the horse/rider and the motto? Is that the best that they could do? From what is on the US Mint's website, there were four other contenders.

"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."

OK, Option 1, that would have been just as lame, the horse/rider with a rectangle behind it. Option 2 would have looked good. Option 3 would have looked good as well. And option 4, it not being picked really surprises me, especially since Wyoming thinks that they own the park, and how much hub bub there was a while back when Montana State University wanted to start referring to itself in marketing propaganda as the University of the Yellowstone.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't dislike Wyoming's trademarked logo, I'm even an alum of the state's only four year institution (the part of the institution that's worth a shit), but to me it seems like it gets taken way too serious.

Let's take a look at some of our neighboring state quarters...



Here we have Montana. "Montana's quarter features a bison skull depicted above the diverse Montana landscape with the inscription "Big Sky Country."" Charlie Russel's bison skull is to Montana as the horse/rider is to Wyoming. Montana even has it on their license plates, but it's not near as blatant and obnoxious.

Wyoming Plate:



Montana Plate:



See the difference? I digress...

Back to quarters!



Here we have South Dakota. "The South Dakota quarter features an image of the State bird, a Chinese ring-necked pheasant, in flight above a depiction of the Mount Rushmore National Monument, featuring the faces of four American Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The design is bordered by heads of wheat." Looks pretty cool doesn't it? Cooler than Wyoming's quarter, that's for damned sure.



Here we have Nebraska. "Nebraska's quarter depicts an ox-drawn covered wagon carrying pioneers in the foreground and Chimney Rock, the natural wonder that rises from the valley of North Platte River, measuring 445 feet from base to tip. The sun is in full view behind the wagon." I grew up in Western Nebraska as a kid before the family moved to Wyoming, so naturally, I have a little bit of pride in the state that I was born in. This quarter makes me think of the school field trips that all kids in Western Nebraska have to take to go see Chimney Rock and the ruts in the prairie that are still there from the days of the Oregon Trail. Again, a quarter that looks much better than Wyoming's.



Here we have Colorado. "The Colorado quarter depicts a sweeping view of the state's rugged Rocky Mountains with evergreen trees and a banner carrying the inscription "Colorful Colorado."" Looking at this quarter, I can almost hear John Denver singing Rocky Mountain High! Another quarter that looks better than Wyoming's.



Here's a good one! Utah! Utah having a better quarter than Wyoming, well, that just adds insult to injury now doesn't it? "Utah's quarter features two locomotives moving toward the golden spike that joined the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads, linking East to West and transforming both the Utah Territory and the Nation with the inscription "Crossroads of the West."" This quarter depicts a very important event in the history of our great country, as well as the American West.

So there you have it... Wyoming's quarter is lame. That's my opinion, take it or leave it.