The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 32, August 12, 2007, Article 23

DENVER MINT BEGINS STRIKING WYOMING STATE QUARTERS

On Monday the U.S. Mint in Denver held a ceremonial striking of
Wyoming's commemorative quarter with a number of Wyoming state
officials present.   The Denver Post published a short article:

"Participants in the ceremony included Bradford Ross, the grandson
of the first woman governor of Wyoming and the first woman director
of the Mint, Nellie Tayloe Ross; Milward Simpson, director of the
Wyoming Department of Parks and Cultural Resources; and James Helzer,
Wyoming Quarter Commission Member.

"According to a news release, Wyoming's state quarter is the fourth
coin released in 2007 and the 44th released in the Mint's 50 State
Quarters Program. An image of a bucking horse and rider are featured
on the coin, along with the inscription, "Equality State," which
acknowledges the state's historical role in establishing equal voting
rights for women. The coin also is inscribed with "Wyoming" and the
year "1890," the year the state was admitted into the Union."

To read the original article, see:
Full Story

The Jackson Hole Star-Tribune published a video on its web site.
To view the video, see:
Video

The Wyoming Tribune published a lengthier piece:

"Some may look at the Wyoming quarter - which was the subject of a
ceremonial striking at the U.S. Mint here Monday - and see the
duality in the state's culture engraved on the tails side of the
coin.

"On the right of the coin is the state slogan, 'The Equality State,'
celebrating Wyoming's groundbreaking role in providing equal rights
for women.

"On the left is the well-known cowboy on a bucking bronc - a
masculine symbol of individualism that brings to mind the popular
moniker 'The Cowboy State.'

"Nellie Tayloe Ross, Wyoming's first female governor and the first
woman in the nation sworn in as a state governor, would not see
those values in opposition though.

"On Monday, her grandson, Bradford Ross, said, 'I think my grandmother
would say that the suffrage issues really helped illustrate the
reality of the (cowboy on) the bucking horse symbol.

"'The men of Wyoming - the cowboys of Wyoming - are so self-confident
that they don't feel like they're losing anything by giving women the
right to vote. My grandmother saw the people of Wyoming were
progressive and insightful.'

"Dignitaries and media milled about the highly secured production
floor of the Mint in Denver, a facility Ross knew well.

"Milward Simpson is director of the Department of State Parks and
Cultural Resources. He also was a member of the Wyoming Coinage
Advisory Committee that reviewed and whittled down the options for
the coin.

"He said public suggestions for the bucking bronc and cowboy as a
symbol for the coin ran 10-1 as the most recommended symbol in
3,200 suggestions.

"Some people see the two slogans - 'The Equality State' and 'The
Cowboy State' - as contradictory, but he does not.

"'The nature of the cowboy as a symbol is retrospective, and the
Equality State is aspirational. So they sort of fit together,' he
said.

"Simpson said Ross' role at the Mint made her the logical choice
to exemplify Wyoming's commitment to equality for women during the
striking of a coin.

"She was appointed to head the U.S. Mint by President Roosevelt in
1933 and served until 1953.

"Bradford Ross said his grandmother's accomplishments at the Mint
included overseeing the opening of a new building in San Francisco
in 1937; producing coins for European nations after World War II;
and pushing for automation and efficiency at the Mint facilities.

"Bradford Ross said, 'Walking the halls of this building as a little
12-year-old boy with my grandmother, I could see how proud she was
of the people who work here and the work that they do.'

"Ross' legacy lives on at the Mint, said Barbara Hurtgam, acting
deputy plant manager.

"She said she hoped the attendees witnessing the ceremonial striking
would find the facility 'as automated and efficient as (Nellie Tayloe
Ross) would want us to be.'

To read the complete article, see:
Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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