Got one in a ten-dollar roll from the bank. In it went to my map of the U.S. with the indentions that FIL sent us. Woohoo!
I got two in my change from the dollar store Wednesday night. that “21st state century” thing struck me as odd.
I think it’s a unique slogan. 21st State, 21st Century. Only Illinois can pull that off (Mississippi missed their chance).
I bet in Mississippi there is only one thing on their minds right now: “Damn it! If we had only KNOWN!”
But the quarter doesn’t say “21st state, 21st century.” it says “21st state century.” I know what they were going for, but that’s not what they put on the coin.
There’s a line in between “state” and “century.”
Thus further breaking up the flow of the concept. Now if they’d have made “21st” larger and placed it to the left of the words “state” and “century” stacked on top of each other it would IMHO be a clearer more coherent design.
I thought the slogan would be “Illinois = Boredom.”
Or… “Illinois – At least it’s not Mississippi”
Seriously though, I got some of these as change last week, and the person working the register made a point about it, like:
“And here’s your change - and we’ve got the new Illinois Quarters for you here, sir”
Like it was a key benefit of choosing to shop at this particular establishment, instead of one of those “other” places that are still handing out those nasty Delaware or … (gasp) plain quarters.
I did my best to look impressed, but I’m pretty sure all I got across was some sort of “And I care because…?” look.
Yeah, well at least yours is better than the incredibly lame designs us Michiganders will be foisting on the nation next year. Sorry about that.
I think #2 would be okay, if they reduced the number of symbols to two or three.
The early auto would be a given…maybe the canoe and the star? I didn’t get the symbolism of the star until I saw the explanation, but now that I know why it’s there, it looks like a good choice.
Mackinack Bridge is okay, but only if it’s outside the map. #3, with the bridge superimposed, ruins the effect.
Anyway, I envy you guys for having such a cool state outline. “You know you’re a Michigander if you’ve ever pointed at your hand to show people where you live”.
Yep, we do that all the time. Really! 
I’m thinking that we need construction cones on ours, though. Or Vernors. Or one of those plaid hats with the ear flaps, or a pickup truck with a deer strapped to it.
I like Abraham Lincoln on the Illinois quarter, BTW. I wish we could do something like that, but something tells me that Gerald Ford just wouldn’t mint as well. 