Guam Residents Select Quarter Design, Now Up to Governor

Public voting ended Saturday for Guam’s commemorative quarter set for release in 2009. Just as Guam residents were asked to help create the quarter designs, they were asked once again by Governor Felix P. Camacho to vote for their favorite.

Two quarter-dollar artist renderings prepared by the United States Mint and based on Guam narratives battled each other since May 20, 2008. Nearly 12,000 votes were cast online. The winning design, GU-01, won by a margin of nearly 700 votes.

The original design narrative provided to the Mint for GU-01 was:

The outline of the island of Guam sits in the center of the coin. To the left of the outline of Guam is the phrase, "Guåhan Tånó I Man Chamorro." On the right of the coin sits two distinct images, one on top of the other: the Latte and the Flying Proa.

While the governor has the authority to overrule and recommend the losing quarter design to the U.S. Mint for production, that is unlikely.

According to the Pacific News Center, Governor Camacho is expected to make the official announcement sometime this week.

New U.S. quarter release schedule for 2009

No exact dates have been set for the commemorative quarter releases in 2009, but they will launch in the following order and at equal intervals:

• District of Columbia (view winning quarter design)
• The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
• Guam
• American Samoa
• The United States Virgin Islands (view winning quarter design)
• The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

More information regarding these quarters, including the design process, may be read though the US Mint page, The District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarter Program.

To see or read about all the original design candidates, visit Quarter Image Design Finalists for District of Columbia and United States Territories.