South Dakota Quarter
2006 South Dakota Quarter
The South Dakota State Quarter was released in 2006 as the fortieth coin of the 50 State Quarters Program. The obverse of the coin was designed by William Cousins after John Flanagan. The reverse of the coin was designed by John Mercanti. The reverse design features Mount Rushmore National Monument, which includes the likeness of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The Chinese ring-necked pheasant appears in flight above the monument.
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Categories: 50 State Quarters, United States Quarters
I can’t complain about Mt. Rushmore, the pheasant, or the wheat ears on this quarter, the combination of all three together looks cramped.
Ratings:While I love the Mount Rushmore National Monument, all it really does on this States Quarter is to create yet another ho-hum design to compliment a below average series of Quarter’s. I can’t believe that in this day and age the U.S. Mint can’t create more beautiful designs for our coinage.
Ratings:This is another of those designs that is just too busy as result of incorporating several distinct elements into a limited space. The wheat ears seem a bit too large and do not have the clean and simple appearance as those on the 1909-1958 cent reverse. The pheasant looks to be an afterthought, and Mount Rushmore, though awesome and a great symbol of the state, simply does not lend itself well to portrayal on a coin. The designs of the Mount Rushmore commemorative coin program in 1991 were similarly disappointing.
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