Quarter designs aim to capture Montana spirit

HELENA – Gov. Brian Schweitzer and the Montana Quarter Commission have submitted four design ideas to artists at the U.S. Mint for the state quarter to be released in early 2007.

Schweitzer said he plans to have residents vote on their favorite design when the state receives the drawings early next spring.

Montana’s four quarter designs include a bull elk, a bison skull, the state outline and one called the “Big Sky Country” design.

“Montana is a unique state – mountains in the west, wheat fields and plains in the east, a diverse wildlife population and independent spirit,” Schweitzer wrote Friday in his letter to the U.S. Mint. “It is my intent and the intent of the Montana Quarter Commission that our design encompasses the spirit of our diversity.”

The four design narratives follow:

Bull Elk – Shows a bull elk in the center posed on a rugged rock formation. In the background, the sun rises over the horizon of the plains of eastern Montana.

Bison Skull – A bison skull in the center of the coin with an Indian feather hanging from one horn of the skull. Other designs could include only the bison skull, the bison skull with mountains tapering to the plains in the background or a bison skull with a staff with an Indian feather hanging from it next to the skull.

State Outline – The state outline fills the quarter. Inside the outline, the west is filled with mountains tapering to the eastern Montana plains. The “Big Sky” is overhead with clouds and or the sun rising over the plains.

Big Sky Country – The top of the quarter is filled with Montana’s “Big Sky” and a few clouds. In the background lies a mountain range, down to the horizon where a river emerges from the mountains and snakes down the plains. The words “Big Sky Country” could be placed on the coin.