CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's space shuttle was the most popular design element featured among the hundreds of suggestions for Florida's commemorative quarter, state officials said.
In fact, the shuttle appears on two of the five designs that were submitted June 24 to the U.S. Mint.
Florida Governor Jeb Bush had narrowed the choice of designs from 10 finalists, which in turn were selected from more than 1,500 designs suggested by Florida residents to a blue-ribbon panel appointed by Bush.
The group waded through dozens and dozens of illustrations showing space shuttles flying through clouds, past sunrises, above palm trees, and even getting prepared for launch from within a grove of orange trees.
The panel also looked at pictures showing people golfing, wildlife of every kind including manatees and alligators, oranges and orange blossoms and reportedly even a Lowe's parking lot.
It will be up to Mint officials to make a final selection for the Sunshine State's coin that will be struck and circulated for a limited 10-week run beginning in 2004.
"The response to this program has been amazing, and all ten finalists were deserving of being sent to the Mint. Choosing just five was a challenge," Bush said.
The selection committee did an "excellent job of choosing designs that reflect all Florida is known for," he added. "It is evident from these designs that, no matter which one ends up on the back of the quarter, Florida will have the best quarter."The two space-related designs feature an element of NASA's shuttle program, which launches and lands at the Kennedy Space Center on Florida's east coast.
Tim Prusmack of Ft. Pierce, Fla., came up with a design that features a fully stacked shuttle lifting off among two herons and some palm branches. The words "America's Spaceport" are included, as are 27 stars, representing Florida's status as the 27th state to join the Union.
Ralph Butler of Bayonet Point, Fla., has just the winged spaceplane on his design, which also includes a Spanish galleon sailing ship and a typical Florida seashore. The inscription reads "Gateway to Discovery".
The three other designs focused on themes of the Everglades, the Fishing Capital of the World, and St. Augustine, which is the nation's oldest city.
Officials at the U.S. Mint will approve the designs and then return them to Florida in November, when state residents will have until January 2003 to vote for the ultimate winner via the Internet.
Even if Floridian's select a space-related theme, it won't be the first state to do so.
The State of Ohio's quarter was the second released into circulation this year and features an Apollo-era astronaut wearing a moonwalking spacesuit. Also on the coin is a Wright Flyer and the words "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers."
Ohio has produced more NASA astronauts than any other state, including John Glenn and Neil Armstrong -- the first American in orbit and the first man to walk on the Moon, respectively.
The 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act created the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters Program in 1997.
The first five quarters were issued in 1999, and the Mint will issue five quarters every year in the order in which the states ratified the U.S. Constitution or were admitted into the Union.
Each state has been able to select its own design for the side of the coin opposite the portrait of George Washington.
Mint rules say the designs can include landmarks, landscapes, major historical buildings, the state flower or plant, icons of the state, symbols of state resources or industries or outlines of the state borders.
State flags, state seals and portraits of any person -- living or dead -- are not allowed.
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