By Scott Wong for The Arizona Republic

Thousands of Arizonans, from schoolchildren to grandparents to state dignitaries, packed the Capitol lawn Monday for the roll out of the state commemorative quarter. The celebration, replete with an old-fashioned red stagecoach, mariachi band and free mint ice-cream drumsticks, marked the culmination of a public process that began three years ago with more than 4,000 quarter designs.

It also offered coin collectors their first chance to get their hands on the much-anticipated Arizona quarter.

Featuring a saguaro cactus against the backdrop of the Grand Canyon, the coin is the 48th in the U.S. Mint’s decade-old 50 State Quarters Program. The Mint plans to release Alaska and Hawaii coins later this year.

“When I bought the (collectable coin) folders, I didn’t know if I’d still be alive when it was done,” Scottsdale resident Charles Clark, 69, said before picking up a pair of quarter rolls for coin sets he plans to present to his granddaughters. “It’s gonna wrap up this year, and I think I’m gonna make it.”

State Capitol police estimated that more than 5,000 people were on hand.

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by Scott Craven - The Arizona Republic

Arizonans should be accustomed to waiting. We had to wait years for such things as professional sports teams, Ikea and light rail.

And now, with the U.S. Mint’s 50 State Quarters program in its 10th year, we’re finally getting ours, all because of the original wait - for statehood. On Friday, the 48th state’s design became the 48th state quarter as the Grand Canyon and saguaro began their minting run in Denver.

But we’re going to have to wait a little bit longer because the coins aren’t likely to show up in tills around the Valley for another two weeks or so, according to Michael White, a U.S. Mint spokesman.

After two years of planning and thousands of people putting in their 2 cents’ worth on what the quarter should look like, the first of the planned 500 million quarters rolled off the Denver Mint’s press as Gov. Janet Napolitano looked on.

The state-quarters program, which the Mint calls its most popular coin-collecting program, began Jan. 1, 1999, with the release of Delaware’s quarter. Delaware, as every elementary-school student knows, was the first U.S. state.

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Something has happened to our money. And no, not just that the American peso has dropped historically against the euro, making trips to France and Italy half-again more costly than they used to be.

Rather, our $5, $10 and $20 bills and our coins have suffered a severe drop in quality when considered as art.

Yes, money is art, whether it’s the engraving that makes up the bills or the bas-relief sculpture on our coins. There are long histories in both as art mediums, from the intricate lozenge-and-dot portraits of the 17th and 18th centuries and the commemorative medallions struck from the Renaissance on.

But craftsmanship at the mint and at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has declined precipitously, leaving us with wallets full of bad art. This wouldn’t be so noticeable if the older coins and bills hadn’t been so beautifully made.

“When I compare our money with European money, ours has fallen quite flat in design and execution,” says Dan Mayer, printmaker for Pyracantha Press at Arizona State University.

Look at an old bill, before the anti-counterfeiting “improvements” of the 21st century. Not only are the portraits more lifelike - there’s a personality behind the eyes in Grant’s picture on the $50 bill - the designs also are fuller, more detailed and graceful, full of trailing acanthus and olive leaves.

The vegetative growth and architectural motifs that used to grace our bills announced our national fecundity. We were a waxing moon, a rising tide. The scrollwork and border ornament recalled the inventive bustle of the Renaissance. Read Full Arizona Republic Article