A Colorado artist may add a third State quarter dollar design to his portfolio if a design inspired by the Pemaquid Point Light is selected for Maine's 2003 State quarter, now under review.
Daniel J. Carr of Colorado submitted a lighthouse design along with Rockland residents Leland and Carolyn Pendleton. The Pendleton's son works with Carr, a mechanical engineer.
Carr's design is among the four finalists selected by Maine Gov. Angus S. King. The design features a rocky shoreline with a lighthouse; a three-masted schooner, based on the Victory Chimes, which sails out of Rockland, Maine; and a white pine tree standing on the shore.
Carr also designed the 2001 New York and Rhode Island State quarter dollars. Carr was among 14 artists invited to submit designs for the reverses of the 2001-dated State quarter dollars in addition to the U.S. Mint's engraving staff. The design competition for the 2001 State quarter dollars was a pilot program to supplement the engravers and the engraving staff. Although the Mint paid Carr for his 2001 State quarter designs, it did not credit him as designer. The engraver's initials appear on the coins, but not those of Carr.
Carolyn Pendleton said she and her husband met Carr earlier this year while visiting their son. They learned of his interest in coin design and sent him a notice about the upcoming Maine design competition when it was published. They worked together on the design and then submitted it. One of the guidelines established by the Commission on the Maine State Quarter Design was the submissions would only be accepted from part-time and full-time residents of Maine.
Carr told Coin World that although he is not a resident of Maine, the "guidelines also indicated that collaborations between groups and individuals were allowed. My submission was a collaboration between the Pendletons and myself."
The guidelines state: "Applicants must be part- or full-time residents of Maine. Artists may apply as individuals, design teams, and partnerships, including groups of students."
He said that in addition "to submitting the design for me, the Pendletons also assisted by providing historical background and suggestions."
The other designs being submitted to the Mint are composites of concepts submitted by Maine residents, both schoolchildren and professional artists. At least 200 design concepts had been received, many incorporating the same elements. The design contest was launched in April.
King selected three of five concepts presented to him by the Commission on the Maine State Quarter Design. King then directed that a fourth design be added and sent to the United States Mint.
The Mint's engraving staff in Philadelphia will use the design concepts to create refined designs that will then be reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee and Commission of Fine Arts, two government panels charged with reviewing coin designs.
Approved designs are expected back from U.S. Mint officials sometime in July. After that, the public will have an opportunity to view the final design or designs. The state's design selection commission hopes to use Internet voting at town libraries to involve the public in choosing the final conceptual design.
The Maine coin will be issued during the fifth year of the State quarter dollar program, which began in 1999 and will run though 2008. Each state will be honored, at a rate of five a year for 10 years.
One of the Maine designs will feature Mount Ktaadn, the highest mountain in Maine, and includes Knife's Edge, a well-known trail on the mountain. Henry David Thoreau's The Maine Woods was written about the mountain, located in the woods of northern Maine. The original Penobscot Indian spelling of Ktaadn was used on the design though it's now known as Mount Katahdin. The mountain is at the northern end of the Appalachian Trail and is 5,267 feet tall. In addition to a view of the mountain, the design depicts a Wabanaki Indian birchbark canoe and a white pine.
The second design reflects the fact that Maine is the first state to see the rays of the rising sun every day due to its geographic location. The design features the outline of the state with the sun rising above a body of water with 16 rays emanating from the sun to indicate Maine's 16 counties. The North Star, a part of Maine's state seal, is depicted to the left of the rising sun.
King also requested that a fourth design be included incorporating the elements of the rising sun and white pine and a representation of the West Quoddy Head Light in Lubec, Maine. This distinctively shaped lighthouse is known for its red and white horizontal stripes. The text reads AMERICA'S FIRST LIGHT.
