The 2005 California State Quarter issued by the United States Mint, depicts naturalist and conservationist John Muir admiring Yosemite Valley’s monolithic granite headwall known as Half Dome with a soaring California condor.
On January 31, 2005, Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope released the following statement: "The Sierra Club applauds Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver for selecting the John Muir-Yosemite design for the California State Quarter. We also congratulate artist and Sierra Club member Garrett Burke for his winning design that pays such a wonderful tribute to California's natural and human heritage. John Muir literally coined conservation as we know it and so it's particularly fitting that we have placed him on the California quarter. Muir's relationship with Yosemite reminds us of the powerful connections that people have to nature, and how beautiful places can inspire us to reach incredible heights. That was essentially Muir's dream when he founded the Sierra Club over a century ago. John Muir's work is far from done. We still have spectacular coastline, cathedral forest, wild rivers and stunning desert, which are vulnerable but can be protected for future generations. I look forward to working with Governor Schwarzenegger and others to keep John Muir's legacy on a roll."
On March 29, 2004, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his selection of the John Muir- Yosemite design to represent the Golden State in the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters ® Program. The design was adapted from a concept by Garrett Burke.
The U.S. Mint released the coins for only a ten-week period in early 2005. They are now found in normal circulation, and through coin dealers.
The U.S. Mint began minting the state quarters since 1999 and has scheduled five quarters to be released each year -- running from the Delaware quarter on Jan. 4, 1999, until the Hawaii quarter on Aug. 21, 2008.
The California state quarter is the 31st in the series to be issued.
Coin Specifications:
• Standard Weight = 5.670g
• Standard Diameter = 0.955 in (24.26mm)
• Thickness = 1.75 mm
• Edge = Reeded
• Composition = Cupro-Nickel Clad (8.33% Nickel, Balance Cu)
The Governor's Selection and Process
- Excerpts of Governor Schwarzenegger's Remarks at the Unveiling on March 29, 2004, of the new California Quarter with photos
- Why Mint Muir? by Harold Wood
About the California State Quarter Designers
- Garrett Burke: Concept designer. Artist who conceived and submitted the winning coin concept
- Alfred Maletsky: Recently retired U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver who rendered the design
- Don Everhart: Sculptor. Newly hired U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver who will model the final version of the coin
Audio
- California Quarter Unveiling Press Conference: With Maria Shriver, Dr. Kevin Starr, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. March 29, 2004