 Greetings, In 2004, the US Mint will issue the Iowa state quarter in the current 50-states quarter program.
The other four states that will have their quarters issued in 2004 have nearly completed their state-run design contests for their quarters.
Iowa, however, has not announced any such contest. I submitted designs for the other four states via friends or relatives in those states. I have also just finished a proposed design for the Iowa quarter which shows an Oliver Super 77 tractor (see link). What I need now, is someone who would volunteer to submit this design for me to the Iowa Governor. I could submit the design directly myself, but since I am not a resident of Iowa (I live in Colorado), it might not carry as much weight as it would if submitted by an Iowa resident. I have chosen this board to announce this because this appears to be THE place for tractor enthusiasts. I do not own a tractor myself, but I am a classic car/truck/motor enthusiast. I searched the Iowa state web page for any references to the state quarter. I found one bill submitted by state senators Miller and Fraise. The bill, from 2001, called for an agricultural theme for the Iowa quarter. Specifically, they suggested Grant Wood's "American Gothic" painting. There are some problems with using that image for the design, however. The painting is copyrighted by Grant Wood's estate. The US Mint specifically states that no head and shoulders portrait of any persom, alive or dead, may be used on state quarters (they want Washington to always be the "heads" side). So, I suspect that the American Gothic image may not be feasible. My proposed design features a farm scene with an Oliver Super 77 tractor (built in the 1950's in Charles City Iowa - I hope it is, anyway !). Also shown is an oak tree (the state tree) and a farmhouse. The farmhouse dormer window is similar to the "gothic" style window in Wood's painting. I would like to submit the design (via an Iowa volunteer) to the Iowa Governor, and the Iowa state senators Miller and Fraise. It might be beneficial if the volunteer were located in Iowa Senate District 47 (David Miller - Jefferson, Van Buren, & Wapello counties) or Iowa Senate District 50 (Eugene Fraise - Des Moines & Lee counties). So, if anyone is interested in this endeavor, please email me, Daniel Carr, at: [email protected] Comments on my proposed design are welcome !
Thanks for any assistance ! PS: I also designed the New York and Rhode Island state quarters. I have a web page for those (and other) designs at: http://www.DesignsComputed.com
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