State Quarter of Alaska

Alaska is an amazing state in the United States of its several extremes. Few people really appreciate the sheer extent of the Alaska State, such as it is bigger than the three bigger neighboring, combined states of the United States. The fourth quarter was unconfined by the United States Mint during 2008 honors the State of Alaska. The Alaska State Quarter is the forty-ninth coin in the United States 50 State Quarters Program. The coin portrays a grizzly bear, grasping a freshly-grabbed salmon fish in its influential jaws, as it comes out from a rushing watercourse. The message, "The Great Land" emerges on the right, beneath the North Star. Alaska was incorporated into the Union on the 3rd of January 1959, which is the year Alaska was declared a state. The word “Alaska" appears below the message at the apex of the coin. The flip side of the Alaska Quarter bears the identical representation of George Washington that has emerged on the other State Quarters.

Design of the coin

The design of the coin of the Alaska State Quarter includes the North Star showed above the message "The Great Land" and the messages "1959" and "Alaska."

The major design component of the grizzly bear, holding a salmon fish is designed to represent the natural attractiveness of Alaska and the profusion of its flora and fauna. The grizzly symbolizes strength, and the salmon fish represents the nourishment that makes such strength promising. These are beautiful ideas, except for the truth that the grizzly bear is, in fact, principally a vegetarian. The grizzly thrives in Alaska and can be seen in places, like Kodiak Island, Denali and Katmai National Parks, and Admiralty Island. However, the grizzly is very suitable for the design of the Alaska Quarter, as better than 98 percent of the grizzly inhabitants in the United States can be seen in Alaska.

The representation of the North Star on the Alaska Quarter coin is a bit disappointing. The North Star is an impressive representation, the vital star in the sky to mankind straddling with a minimum period of three millenniums, but the representation of the Star on the Alaska Quarter coin will most likely be ignored by nearly all people. It seems just similar to any number of other ordinary stars that have emerged on the United States coinage, and it is doubtful several people will understand its significance. It would have been fine if they had provided it with some rays, or made it bigger and less generic-appearance.

Attractive facts about Alaska

Here are some attractive facts about Alaska:

The United States acquired Alaska from Russia during 1867 for $7.2 million at the rate of 2 cents per acre.

Alaska includes almost 3,000,000 lakes, some of which will emerge only seasonally.

Among the 20 highest mountains in the United States, 17 mountains are in Alaska, including the Mt. McKinley, which is the tallest mountain in the country.

Less than one percent of the land in Alaska is privately possessed.

The utterance "Alaska" originates from "Alyeska," which is the Aleutian word that means "The Great Land."

Alaska includes an inspiring 29 volcanoes.