NMI quarter design finalized

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has unveiled the design of the Northern Marianas’ commemorative quarter.

The design—featuring a latte stone sitting on the shoreline, an outrigger canoe, a pair of white fairy terns, and a mwar—will be the last to be minted under the United States’ popular coin program. It will go into circulation next year.

“This represents everybody in, and everything about, the CNMI,” said the governor.

The design was based on narratives submitted by the CNMI’s three-member commemorative coin commission, made up of the governor’s special assistant for administration Esther Fleming, attorney Teresa Kim, and Catherine Perry Anderson.

It was one of the three designs prepared by U.S. Mint artists. One of the other designs is similar to the chosen design, but did not include the mwar. The third design shows the islands’ role in World War II, showing armed soldiers and using the date “June 15, 1944,” when the historic Battle of Saipan began.

The commission said it picked the final design because it depicts the Commonwealth’s indigenous culture, natural resources, and virtues of hospitality and respect.

The latte stone is a pre-historic pillar of the Chamorros, carved from limestone and believed to have held up structures. The outrigger canoe represents the Carolinians, who for centuries have used traditional navigational skills.

The shoreline, ocean, and sky—as depicted by the white fairy terns, which are endemic to the Northern Marianas and are usually seen flying in pairs—represent the “common wealth” of the people.

The Carolinian mwar, or head lei, is a welcoming gesture to visitors and also symbolic of the virtues of honor and respect.

The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Marianas were not included in the 50 state commemorative quarter coin program initiated in 1998. State quarters began circulating in 1999 in the order they were admitted into the union. The program was slated to end this year. About 30 billion coins have been minted thus far.

In December 2007, President Bush signed a law extending the program to the nation’s capital and the insular areas.

The new quarters will be minted in 2009, starting with the District of Columbia coin.

According to the Mint, nearly half of all Americans collect the state quarters.