Nevada quarters arriving soon

A group of Nevadans, led by Treasurer Brian Krolicki, were at the U.S. Mint in Denver for the official striking of the first Nevada state quarter Thursday.

And the first coin minted was struck by Krolicki's "special adviser" - his 7-year-old daughter Katherine pushed the button and watched as her quarter, the first of 800,000 in the initial run, rolled down the chute of the coin press.

He said she was one of the biggest fans of the wild-horse motif eventually selected by thousands of Nevadans who cast votes for their choice on the treasurer's Web site.

"I promised her she could go all the way through it," he said. "She has been by my side and having a ball."

In addition, Krolicki and several members of the volunteer commission, which helped work out a series of proposed designs for the coin, were allowed to mint their own Nevada quarters, which will be packaged in a plastic case and sent to each of the participants as a memento at the end of the month.

Nevada's coin features wild horses, and was one of five designs created by artists at the mint, according to design concepts developed by the volunteer commission.

Other popular designs featured images of a bighorn sheep and a miner. But more than 60,000 Nevadans voted for their favorite design, and the horses were the winner.

"It looks great," Krolicki said. "Even the mint officials were saying it really looks good."

Mint officials insisted on having their artists do the actual designs because of the technical problems in designing a coin that will strike well. But they made it clear there were a number of themes not acceptable, including any gambling icon - such as a slot machine or a showgirl - as part of the design. Political statements were also banned, including a nuclear mushroom cloud or anything to do with Yucca Mountain.

The state quarters series was begun in 1999 with the mint issuing five state quarters each year in the order the states were admitted to the union.

Nevada, the 36th state, was therefore the first to get a quarter this year.

Krolicki said neither his daughter nor any of the other participants were allowed to keep their quarter Thursday.

"It's funny, but it's not legal tender today. It's not until it's officially sanctioned by the Treasury at the end of the month."

After that, they will receive the quarters they minted.

Krolicki said Nevada State Bank, which is state chartered, will receive the initial shipment of Nevada quarters near the end of the month and distribute them.

He said his office will hold a "quarter exchange" in the Capitol on Jan. 31 to allow Nevadans to get $10 rolls of the coins before they are put into general circulation.

The number of Nevada quarters eventually turned out will be "several million," said Krolicki, but when they are released will depend on the demands of the Federal Reserve's distribution system.

-- Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.