Somewhere out there is someone who has a story about the U.

Thursday, September 16, 1999

Somewhere out there is someone who has a story about the U.S. Department of Treasury that would make us all wince upon hearing the punch line.

But, hats off to the Treasury’s new quarters.

Every 10 weeks or so, another state-specific 25¢ piece is being released.

To date, the Georgia Peach quarter is the most fetching new coin. Each of the polished new quarters recalls a piece of our country’s history. With more than 40 new quarters yet to be released, it’ll be well into the next century before we see the Alaskan and Hawaiian models.

At a time when an army of soothsayers is unrelenting in pointing to the year 2000 as the be-all-end-all, it’s refreshing to see an agency treat the coming new year as any other.

Four-hundred-and-fifty weeks down the road, when the final Hawaiian and Alaskan quarters are coming out, the hype surrounding a new millennium will be a dusty afterthought. Meanwhile, the collection of quarters will last as a fine reminder of our rich history.

To boot, we take the lengthy release of the quarters as a subtle vote of confidence in the future. Something that hasn’t been evident in all of the doomsday Y2K talk.