Nevada quarter wins accolades

The wild horses, mountainscape and sagebrush on the back of Nevada's state quarter were appealing enough to Nevada residents, who selected the design over other contenders in an online poll. Now, coin experts have weighed in, bestowing two honors on the design at the Coin of the Year ceremonies held in Berlin earlier this month.

A committee of 55 people from around the world -- including mint and bank officials, as well as other coin experts -- selected awards for 10 categories.

The top honor, Coin of the Year, was awarded to a set of four Canadian $50 palladium coins showing the Big Bear and Little Bear constellations.

The People's Choice Coin of the Year, the first year for the award, went to a Hungarian coin marking the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian revolution.

But the United States came home with three honors, two of which were for the Nevada commemorative coin, which won Most Popular Coin and Best Trade Coin for 2006.

"It's a pat on the back to the governor's office, the Nevada selection process, the people of Nevada and the U.S. Mint for having produced it," said David Harper, editor of Numismatic News and World Coin News, which hosts the annual ceremony.

"Nevada's quarter tells the story about the natural beauty of the state, and it's also a beautiful coin," Harper said. "Not every state has the genius or the good fortune to make it work like Nevada did."

Most Coin of the Year awards honor commemorative coins produced in smaller numbers and which therefore are not in circulation. There are only 250,000 of the 2006 Benjamin Franklin commemorative silver dollars, which won the Most Historically Significant category.

In comparison, a total of about 590 million Nevada state quarters were minted during its 10-week production at the Denver and Philadelphia mints. Because of its high circulation and popularity, the Nevada state quarter was nominated -- along with nine other coins from around the world -- in the Best Trade Coin and Most Popular Coin categories.

"It's a wonderful surprise," said Phil Carlino, president of Fremont Coin Co.. "I think Nevada is very proud that our coin was chosen."

Carlino, who has been involved in coins in Nevada for almost 50 years, was part of the committee that submitted design ideas to the U.S. Mint for the Nevada state quarter. When considering ideas, the committee was told the quarter could not include any reference to atomic testing or gaming, Carlino said.

The final choice on which design to use was left up to Nevada citizens through an online ballot. They chose the design featuring three wild horses, the sun rising over the mountains and the state's official flower, sagebrush. Other designs not selected included one with a bearded miner and one with a bighorn sheep.

"They made the correct decision when they chose this particular quarter," Carlino said. "The people of Nevada should take personal pride in the fact that our state was the winner."

The Nevada quarter was the 36th quarter released in the 50 State Quarters Program of the U.S. Mint. The program has caused an increased interest in coin collecting, Carlino said.

"It's become a great hobby. People are buying them by the roll."

Contact reporter Scott Spjut at sspjut@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0279.