A pocketful of history : four hundred years of America--one state quarter at a time / Jim Noles.

Title :

A pocketful of history : four hundred years of America--one state quarter at a time

Author:

Noles, James L., Jr.

Format:

Books

Language:

English

ISBN - ISSN:

0306815788

9780306815782

Physical Description:

xxvi, 324 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Contents:

Preface: A Quarter for My Thoughts ... xv -- Program xix -- 1 Delaware: Hail Caesar! 1 -- 2 Pennsylvania: The Key to the Keystone 7 -- 3 New Jersey: The First Commute 13 -- 4 Georgia: Peachy Keen 19 -- 5 Connecticut: An Oak Grows in Hartford 25 -- 6 Massachusetts: Just a Minute 31 -- 7 Maryland: The Oldest Line in the Book 37 -- 8 South Carolina: Palmetto Proud 43 -- 9 New Hampshire: Rock ... and Roll 49 -- 10 Virginia: The Other Three Ships 55 -- 11 New York: "A Mighty Woman with a Torch" 61 -- 12 North Carolina: "Damned if they ain't flew!" 67 -- 13 Rhode Island: Relying on Reliance 73 -- 14 Vermont: Freedom, Unity, and Maple Syrup 79 -- 15 Kentucky: A Quarter Horse? Hardly 85 -- 16 Tennessee: "Here's a Quarter ..." 91 -- 17 Ohio: The Illegal Astronaut 97 -- 18 Louisiana: The Pelican Brief 103 -- 19 Indiana: Gentlemen, Start Your Engines 109 -- 20 Mississippi: Steel Magnolias 115 -- 21 Illinois: Lincoln's Hat Trick 121 -- 22 Alabama: The Other Helen Keller 127 -- 23 Maine: The Maine Attractions 133 -- 24 Missouri: Show Me (the Money) 139 -- 25 Arkansas: Diamonds Are a State's Best Friend 145 -- 26 Michigan: Great Lakes, Great Drama, ... and a So-So Quarter 151 -- 27 Florida: The Costliest Quarter 157 -- 28 Texas: Texas Ties One On 163 -- 29 Iowa: An Education in Art 169 -- 30 Wisconsin: Got Milk? Got Cheese? Got Corn? 175 -- 31 California: California Dreaming 181 -- 32 Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes, 488 Million Quarters 187 -- 33 Oregon: Hillman's Richest Find 193 -- 34 Kansas: Buffalo Soldier in the Heart of America 199 -- 35 West Virginia: A Bridge Too Far 205 -- 36 Nevada: Horse Sense 211 -- 37 Nebraska: A Rock by Any Other Name ... 217 -- 38 Colorado: Secret(s) of the Mountains 223 -- 39 North Dakota: Where the Buffalo (Still) Roam 229 -- 40 South Dakota: "What Matter of Men They Were" 235 -- 41 Montana: Where the Buffalo Roam (Again) 241 -- 42 Washington: Profiles in Courage 247 -- 43 Idaho: "And Here We Have Idaho ..." 253 -- 44 Wyoming: All Things Being Equal ... 259 -- 45 Utah: Utah Makes a Good Point 265 -- 46 Oklahoma: Two for the Price of One 271 -- 47 New Mexico: The Circle of Life 277 -- 48 Arizona: The Grand Design 283 -- 49 Alaska: Call of the Wild 289 -- 50 Hawaii: All the King's Men 295.

Subject:

Quarter-dollar.

Coins, American.

Commemorative coins -- United States.

Emblems, State -- United States -- Miscellanea.

U.S. states -- History -- Miscellanea.

National characteristics, American -- Miscellanea.

United States -- History -- Miscellanea.

First Title value, for Searching:

A pocketful of history : four hundred years of America--one state quarter at a time / Jim Noles.

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Summary

The U.S. Mint's Fifty State Quarters Program-its most ambitious program to date-has been a huge popular success. When the final state quarters are released in 2008, many thousands of individuals will have collected one commemorative quarter for each state in the Union. But what can we learn about our country's history and culture from 12.50 worth of quarters? A Pocketful of History tells the intriguing story behind each state's quarter: how each state chose its quarter's design; what is important about the people, scenes, or themes depicted on the coin; and what the collection tells us about how we view ourselves and our heritage. A Pocketful of History will guide readers on a fascinating journey through America's rich history of change.

Author Notes

Jim Noles , the author of three previous books, is a practicing attorney and a frequent contributor to the New York Times and several magazines. He lives in Alabama.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In his latest, author and attorney Noles (Twenty-Three Minutes to Eternity: The Final Voyage of the Escort Carrier USS Liscome Bay) looks at the 50 State Quarters Program, which, over about ten years, has issued a quarter commemorating each state with a different design. Organized by issue date, each state quarter is given a few pages of background information, including the date of release, the number initially minted and the reasons behind its design. His work is full of information for both novice coin collectors and average Joes, and his otherwise dry account benefits occasionally from witty chapter subtitles and gentle mockery (Wisconsin's state motto, "Forward!", appears to be exhorting a cow head, ear of corn and cheese round "to move along"). While some may assume that there is little mystery behind the state quarters series, Noles finds much to inform, and occasionally startle, making each entry a quick, fulfilling slice of American history. 50 b&w photos (May) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Review

Breezy collection of the stories behind the 50 commemorative quarters, one for each state, now making their way from the U.S. Mint into circulation. Veteran anthologist Noles (Hearts of Dixie: Fifty Alabamians and the State They Called Home, 2004, etc.) provides 50 short essays on the images that appear on the quarters' obverse sides. (An identical portrait of Washington graces the fronts.) Canada provided the inspiration in 1991, when it released 12 quarters dedicated to the 12 Canadian provinces. They were so popular and lucrative that U.S. coin collectors began pressuring their representatives to make U.S. state versions. Noles describes the political maneuvering in a numbingly detailed prologue readers will do well to skip, along with the fulsome foreword by Congressman Mike Castle. The coins began appearing in 1999 in the order in which each state joined the nation, from Delaware (1787) to Hawaii (1959), and the essays follow this sequence. The Delaware quarter features Caesar Rodney on a galloping horse; Noles explains that this Revolutionary War patriot, although ill, rode 80 miles to Philadelphia in 1776 to swing Delaware's vote in favor of independence. The peach on Georgia's coin inspires a history of peach agriculture in that state plus the essential trivia nugget: Georgia ranks only third in U.S. peach production; it's first in peanuts and pecans. The single Native American gracing these coins is Hawaii's King Kamehameha I (1758-1819), whose impressive accomplishments Noles recounts. For those who make lists, four state coins feature ships (not including New Jersey's reproduction of Washington crossing the Delaware); four show horses (two with riders) and three portray the American bison (Montana's depicts only the skull). Most chapters devote a few paragraphs to each state's competition for the winning design, so readers will encounter descriptions of the losing designs as well as each governor's less-than-deathless prose as he or she announces the winner. An easy read apparently aimed at coin collectors, though history trivia buffs will also find plenty of material. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal Review

Noles here offers a history of the United States as seen through the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters program, begun in 1999. Inspired by a similar Canadian program, the U.S. Congress agreed on the redesign of quarters, state by state. The final state quarters are being released this year. The coins variously commemorate individuals, plants, animals, natural wonders, and historical events representative of each state. Noles gives each state its own chapter, covering the theme and design process for each coin, the number of coins minted, comments by some of the state governors, and the history as portrayed on each coin. The result is not a comprehensive history of the United States but a serving of individual slices. Readers will encounter familiar information but also the new and unfamiliar and will come away with a greater appreciation of their pocket change and the valuable history it can offer. Images of each quarter are included. For high school and public library history collections where there is interest in history and/or numismatics.--Judith Klamm, Kansas City P.L., MO (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Congressman Mike Castle

Foreword	p. xi
Preface: A Quarter for My Thoughts ...	p. xv
The Program	p. xix
1 Delaware: Hail Caesar!	p. 1
2 Pennsylvania: The Key to the Keystone	p. 7
3 New Jersey: The First Commute	p. 13
4 Georgia: Peachy Keen	p. 19
5 Connecticut: An Oak Grows in Hartford	p. 25
6 Massachusetts: Just a Minute	p. 31
7 Maryland: The Oldest Line in the Book	p. 37
8 South Carolina: Palmetto Proud	p. 43
9 New Hampshire: Rock ... and Roll	p. 49
10 Virginia: The Other Three Ships	p. 55
11 New York: "A Mighty Woman with a Torch"	p. 61
12 North Carolina: "Damned if they ain't flew!"	p. 67
13 Rhode Island: Relying on Reliance	p. 73
14 Vermont: Freedom, Unity, and Maple Syrup	p. 79
15 Kentucky: A Quarter Horse? Hardly	p. 85
16 Tennessee: "Here's a Quarter ..."	p. 91
17 Ohio: The Illegal Astronaut	p. 97
18 Louisiana: The Pelican Brief	p. 103
19 Indiana: Gentlemen, Start Your Engines	p. 109
20 Mississippi: Steel Magnolias	p. 115
21 Illinois: Lincoln's Hat Trick	p. 121
22 Alabama: The Other Helen Keller	p. 127
23 Maine: The Maine Attractions	p. 133
24 Missouri: Show Me (the Money)	p. 139
25 Arkansas: Diamonds Are a State's Best Friend	p. 145
26 Michigan: Great Lakes, Great Drama, ... and a So-So Quarter	p. 151
27 Florida: The Costliest Quarter	p. 157
28 Texas: Texas Ties One On	p. 163
29 Iowa: An Education in Art	p. 169
30 Wisconsin: Got Milk? Got Cheese? Got Corn?	p. 175
31 California: California Dreaming	p. 181
32 Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes, 488 Million Quarters	p. 187
33 Oregon: Hillman's Richest Find	p. 193
34 Kansas: Buffalo Soldier in the Heart of America	p. 199
35 West Virginia: A Bridge Too Far	p. 205
36 Nevada: Horse Sense	p. 211
37 Nebraska: A Rock by Any Other Name ...	p. 217
38 Colorado: Secret(s) of the Mountains	p. 223
39 North Dakota: Where the Buffalo (Still) Roam	p. 229
40 South Dakota: "What Matter of Men They Were"	p. 235
41 Montana: Where the Buffalo Roam (Again)	p. 241
42 Washington: Profiles in Courage	p. 247
43 Idaho: "And Here We Have Idaho ..."	p. 253
44 Wyoming: All Things Being Equal ...	p. 259
45 Utah: Utah Makes a Good Point	p. 265
46 Oklahoma: Two for the Price of One	p. 271
47 New Mexico: The Circle of Life	p. 277
48 Arizona: The Grand Design	p. 283
49 Alaska: Call of the Wild	p. 289
50 Hawaii: All the King's Men	p. 295
Acknowledgments	p. 301
Selected Bibliography and Recommended Reading	p. 303
Index	p. 317

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Library Journal Review

Table of Contents