Bible? What Bible? Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher, State Wildflower Win Quarter Design Vote
As the result of a statewide vote, Governor Brad Henry announced today that Oklahoma’s quarter will feature the state bird and state wildflower: the scissor-tailed flycatcher and the Indian blanket (Gaillardia pulchella).
More than 148,000 votes were cast in selecting the design for the quarter, part of a special series launched by the U.S. Mint in 1999. The Pioneer Woman statue in Ponca City was in some designs, but controversy erupted last week when it was revealed artists at the Mint had deleted the Bible carried in her right hand.
“Oklahomans have spoken and the results are clear,” Henry said of the online vote, in which people chose between five design proposals. “In the year of our glorious centennial, I felt it was important to give Oklahomans the final word on what will grace our commemorative quarter. Oklahoma has a rich heritage and diverse culture, and so it was a formidable challenge to distill everything that is Oklahoma down to a single design. But tens of thousands of our citizens took that challenge, and the result is an illustration that attests to the state’s natural beauty.”
The online vote capped a design selection that the Governor had crafted to let Oklahomans choose what would appear on the quarter. The process began last year, when two committees reviewed hundreds of designs submitted by Oklahomans and subsequently agreed on 10 final proposals. Henry then asked Oklahomans to choose the five finalists that were then submitted to the Treasury Department. Under federal guidelines, those designs were written narratives that the Mint converted to visual form. Oklahomans then voted again, choosing among the five designs crafted by the U.S. Mint. The #2 design proposal won handily. Earning more than 50 percent of the vote, it beat out competing illustrations that featured representations of the Pioneer Woman, a gushing oil derrick, waving wheat, a windmill and a calumet. The final vote tallies are as follows: #2-76,643, #3-19,710, No. 4-18,976, #1-17,784, #5-15,023.
More than 148,000 votes were cast in selecting the design for the quarter, part of a special series launched by the U.S. Mint in 1999. The Pioneer Woman statue in Ponca City was in some designs, but controversy erupted last week when it was revealed artists at the Mint had deleted the Bible carried in her right hand.
“Oklahomans have spoken and the results are clear,” Henry said of the online vote, in which people chose between five design proposals. “In the year of our glorious centennial, I felt it was important to give Oklahomans the final word on what will grace our commemorative quarter. Oklahoma has a rich heritage and diverse culture, and so it was a formidable challenge to distill everything that is Oklahoma down to a single design. But tens of thousands of our citizens took that challenge, and the result is an illustration that attests to the state’s natural beauty.”
The online vote capped a design selection that the Governor had crafted to let Oklahomans choose what would appear on the quarter. The process began last year, when two committees reviewed hundreds of designs submitted by Oklahomans and subsequently agreed on 10 final proposals. Henry then asked Oklahomans to choose the five finalists that were then submitted to the Treasury Department. Under federal guidelines, those designs were written narratives that the Mint converted to visual form. Oklahomans then voted again, choosing among the five designs crafted by the U.S. Mint. The #2 design proposal won handily. Earning more than 50 percent of the vote, it beat out competing illustrations that featured representations of the Pioneer Woman, a gushing oil derrick, waving wheat, a windmill and a calumet. The final vote tallies are as follows: #2-76,643, #3-19,710, No. 4-18,976, #1-17,784, #5-15,023.
Labels: Brad Henry, Oklahoma Quarter Design
posted by Mike McCarville @ 3:27 PM
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