2004 State Quarters Silver Proof Set

Despite the fact that the 50 State Quarters Program debuted in 1999, the 2004 50 State Quarters Silver Proof Set was the first annual precious metal set to be issued by the United States Mint to contain just that year’s commemorative quarter dollars. No such product had been released by the Mint in previous year’s although the quarters from those year’s had been struck from the white metal and included as part of the larger annual silver proof sets which also contained cent, nickel, dime and half dollars coins.

Each coin of the 2004 Quarters Silver Proof Set was struck from 90% silver at the US Mint’s facility in San Francisco with a total weight of .18084 ounces of the precious metal. Adding all five of the strikes of the set together gives an intrinsic melt value of 0.904 ounces.

The 50 State Quarters Program saw five new quarter dollars released annually as part of it from 1999-2008. Coins of the series each featured a unique reverse emblematic of a different state with the release order dictated by the order in which those states entered the Union. Shown on the obverse of each coin was the same portrait of George Washington as designed by Sculptor John Flanagan in 1932 and modified by former United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver William Cousins in 1999.

2004 marked the sixth year of the ten year 50 State Quarters Program. The strikes released that year in the series were the twenty-sixth through thirtieth of the series. Information on each 2004-dated quarter is offered below as originally described by the US Mint.

Michigan Quarter

The Michigan quarter depicts a textured outline of the State and the Great Lakes system. The quarter is inscribed “Great Lakes State.” Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes, more than any other state. Standing anywhere in Michigan, a person is within 85 miles of one of the Great Lakes.

Florida Quarter

The Florida quarter design features a space shuttle, a 16th century Spanish galleon and the inscription “Gateway to Discovery.” A strip of land with sabal palm trees is also depicted.

Texas Quarter

The Texas quarter’s reverse (tails side) incorporates the distinctive outline of the State with a superimposed star and the inscription, “The Lone Star State.” The lariat encircling the design is symbolic of the cattle and cowboy history of Texas and the frontier spirit.

Iowa Quarter

The Iowa quarter-dollar design features a one-room schoolhouse with a teacher and students planting a tree, and the inscriptions “Foundation in Education” and “Grant Wood.” The design is based on “Arbor Day,” a painting by Grant Wood, who was born near Anamosa, Iowa.

Wisconsin Quarter

The Wisconsin design depicts an agricultural theme, featuring the head a cow, a round of cheese, and an ear of corn. The design also bears an inscription of the State motto, “Forward.”

2004 50 State Quarters Silver Proof Set Specifications