06/09/2002 "Florida's New Quarter Design" Florida is getting ready to choose the design for it's quarter. I'm a little disheartened over the entries - not one included Ponce de Leon, the Spanish explorer who discovered Florida. He probably would have been a bit too controversial, what with killing tens of thousands of Taino and Carib Indians and all.
Five of the ten design finalists feature the Space Shuttle. Bad choice. While the idea of saying something about the space program is a great idea, the Space Shuttle is an aging truck that hauls stuff into orbit. It'll be retired and replaced with something cooler, more efficient and better in the next ten years and Florida will still be stuck with the Shuttle design. But, you may be thinking, the Shuttle is part of it's history! Yes, but the Apollo mission rockets are too. Why not have a Saturn V on there - the rocket that took us to the Moon?
In the end I'll support the Gateway to Discovery coin design, because it's how historians 300 years from now will remember Florida. And it does have a Spanish Galleon on it, although Ponce didn't ever pilot one that nice. What's your choice?
Replies: 4 comments
obsess much? between money and ponce de leon, you're set.
Posted by kristen
Sunday, June 9, 2002 at 07:23
PM EST
Cede Florida to Cuba and get on with our lives.
Posted by bildorf
Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 12:15
PM EST
What? no butterfly on the Florida coin design?
Posted by Mother of butterfly boy
Saturday, July 6, 2002 at 03:57
PM EST
Just stick an orange ( fruit) design on it and say Florida premium ... at least it would give publicity to the juice.
Posted by hayzy
Friday, August 2, 2002 at 05:53
PM EST
Florida is getting ready to choose the design for it's quarter. I'm a little disheartened over the entries - not one included Ponce de Leon, the Spanish explorer who discovered Florida. He probably would have been a bit too controversial, what with killing tens of thousands of Taino and Carib Indians and all. 
