# Okay, I'm still mad. This is for New Mexico! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 23, 2007, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285 "2007-04-23T08:13:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/1 "2007-04-23T08:13:40Z")
In another thread, **Absolute** posted the [proposed and rejected designs for the New Mexico state quarter.](http://quarterdesigns.com/proposed/nmexico.html) The state outline, that sun symbol, and the words “Land of Enchantment.” That’s it. All four proposals are the same thing, just different sizes/proportions. New Mexico deserves better than that! **Ninja Chick** , **Tabula Rasa** , wanna get in on this? It **is** the land of enchantment, but its motto might as well be “YES, WE ARE A STATE!” The state quarter thing will probably help clear up that confusion, but this feels like, “Oh, right, you guys get a quarter. Here, my kid drew this on the menu at Denny’s.” Other states get historical events, historical figures, natural and man-made landmarks, animals and suggestive fruit. Ohio, frakking Ohio, gets a two-fer: the Wright Brothers’ plane **and** John Glenn. What does New Mexico get? The sun symbol. The sun symbol. Which is all most people think of when they hear “New Mexico,” assuming they know it’s a state. The balloons I would be okay with, although that might be the most frivolous state quarter theme. The nuke, though, would be the perfect way to stand up and say “Yeah! No Olympics tickets, huh? ‘Lizards make excellent pets’? You guys can’t even make up a good **joke** motto for us! Watch out or we’ll sic the aliens on you! Thought we were kidding, didja?” Seriously, it doesn’t have to be the nuke. But it irks me that they can’t even prove the motto’s accuracy. There’s so much natural beauty in New Mexico. Even in monochrome, it could still be stunning. But this? I’ve seen better representation in road atlases. It’s just such a huge blind spot. There must be no one at the Mint to say, “Hey, I’ve been there, and those rock formations are awesome!” It feels like they just copped the sun symbol off the state flag because they don’t know there’s any there there. So New Mexico continues to be the redheaded stepchild of the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Traveling\_Riverside\_Bluesman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Traveling\_Riverside\_Bluesman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Traveling_Riverside_Bluesman)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/2 "2007-04-23T08:27:17Z")
Wow, those choices aren’t really… choices, are they? More like variations on a theme. Hey, can Michigan get in on the state quarter pitting? This is Michigan’s quarter: [http://www.theus50.com/images/state-quarters/michigan-quarter.jpg](http://www.theus50.com/images/state-quarters/michigan-quarter.jpg) All we got was a picture of our state! Well duh, thanks for clearing that up, no one knows what shape our state is! ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/3 "2007-04-23T08:33:17Z")
That seemed odd to me too, although I was not in a position to take it personally. How could no one even think of putting a car on there? Perhaps even be really sly and juxtapose a car and a Native American? Pontiac, the person/Pontiac, the car? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/4 "2007-04-23T08:36:17Z")
[QUOTE=Traveling Riverside Bluesman] Wow, those choices aren’t really… choices, are they? More like variations on a theme. Hey, can Michigan get in on the state quarter pitting? This is Michigan’s quarter: [http://www.theus50.com/images/state-quarters/michigan-quarter.jpg](http://www.theus50.com/images/state-quarters/michigan-quarter.jpg) All we got was a picture of our state! Well duh, thanks for clearing that up, no one knows what shape our state is! [/QUOTE] Worse than that, it took me almost 20 seconds to SEE the state. When I look at it, I see the lakes - y’know, the part that’s actually centered on the quarter? Finally seeing the state was like looking at the vase and suddenly seeing two silhouettes. ---
**Author:** ![T\_SQUARE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@T\_SQUARE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_SQUARE)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/5 "2007-04-23T12:48:02Z")
I’m pretty sure that the state submits designs for the mint to approve, so the lack of creativity probably doesn’t reside with the feds. I do remember reading somewhere that Hawaii wanted a guy surfing on the quarter and the spoil sports down at the mint said no. ---
**Author:** ![Twisty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Twisty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twisty)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/6 "2007-04-23T12:59:04Z")
wait… … there’s a\*New[/] Mexico? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/7 "2007-04-23T13:19:59Z")
If only some artists lived there. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/8 "2007-04-23T13:45:33Z")
Hm, I kind of like the Balloon Fiesta one. I’ve seen tourism book covers that represented the state far better. I’d probably comine the balloons with a roadrunner and Ship Rock, or a pueblo or something. ---
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/9 "2007-04-23T15:55:32Z")
“Cleaner than regular Mexico” ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/10 "2007-04-23T15:58:13Z")
[QUOTE=lieu] If only some artists lived there. [/QUOTE] They could use a Georgia O’Keefe painting, but people might think it was the Virginia quarter. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/11 "2007-04-23T16:01:11Z")
How about, “NO, WE’RE NOT ARIZONA!” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/12 "2007-04-23T16:03:06Z")
[QUOTE=DanBlather] They could use a Georgia O’Keefe painting, but people might think it was the Virginia quarter. [/QUOTE] [Huh?](http://www.theus50.com/virginia/quarter.php) Do you perhaps mean the [Georgia quarter](http://www.theus50.com/georgia/quarter.php), believed by many to resemble a shapely woman’s backside with a leaf stuck in it? ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/13 "2007-04-23T16:06:29Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Worse than that, it took me almost 20 seconds to SEE the state. When I look at it, I see the lakes - y’know, the part that’s actually centered on the quarter? Finally seeing the state was like looking at the vase and suddenly seeing two silhouettes. [/QUOTE] That’s what I like about it, though…it celebrates what makes Michigan unusual and great…that it is surrounded on practically all sides by the lakes. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/14 "2007-04-23T16:10:12Z")
[QUOTE=Traveling Riverside Bluesman] Hey, can Michigan get in on the state quarter pitting? This is Michigan’s quarter: [http://www.theus50.com/images/state-quarters/michigan-quarter.jpg](http://www.theus50.com/images/state-quarters/michigan-quarter.jpg) All we got was a picture of our state! Well duh, thanks for clearing that up, no one knows what shape our state is! [/QUOTE] Hey, at least it depicts something that is [still there](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man_of_the_Mountain)… ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/15 "2007-04-23T16:23:43Z")
Only real states get to Pit their quarter designs. Off to MPSIMS. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/16 "2007-04-23T16:46:23Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] … resemble a shapely woman’s backside with a leaf stuck in it? [/QUOTE] The latin “Out of many, one” written below ain’t helpin’ matters any. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/17 "2007-04-23T19:07:41Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] [Huh?](http://www.theus50.com/virginia/quarter.php) Do you perhaps mean the [Georgia quarter](http://www.theus50.com/georgia/quarter.php), believed by many to resemble a shapely woman’s backside with a leaf stuck in it? [/QUOTE] Georgia O’Keefe is know for her vagina-like paintings. Virginia/vagina, get it? ---
**Author:** ![Klaatu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Klaatu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klaatu)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/18 "2007-04-24T03:15:48Z")
I think it should be a roadrunner with a chile in it’s mouth and and at the bottom say “red or green?” ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/19 "2007-04-24T03:24:15Z")
How about something to do with the [Santa Fe Trail](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_Trail)? (At least as an _alternative_.) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285/20 "2007-04-24T03:48:04Z")
Taos Pueblo might make a nice image. But speaking as a former Albuquerque resident, I’m quite happy with the sun symbol. It’s actually been ripped off here in Thailand, used on the label of a brand of village-made clothing from the Northeast. Sort of a baggy, hippie-style that’s peddled to the backpacker crowd on Khao San Road, so rather appropriate. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-im-still-mad-this-is-for-new-mexico/401285.md?page=2)