Delaware

Delaware is one of the smallest states on the U.S. map, yet it holds a very special place in American history. On December 7, 1787, it became the first of the thirteen states to ratify the newly drafted U.S. Constitution. That is why its nickname is “The First State,” and why, in the 50 State Quarters series that began in 1999, it was given the honor of being issued first (No. 1).

The figure at the center of the coin’s reverse is a man named Caesar Rodney. The name may be unfamiliar, but his story is one of the decisive scenes of American independence. In the summer of 1776, in Philadelphia, the delegates of each state were about to vote on whether to declare independence, and Delaware’s delegates were split.

At the time Rodney was ill, but the moment he heard the news he rode roughly 130 km through the night, pushing through a storm to reach the assembly hall. There he cast Delaware’s vote in favor, helping to secure the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. The figure on the reverse—a man riding on horseback—commemorates that very moment of this dramatic ride.

In this way, the reverse of a single quarter compresses the identity and historical moment that a state is most proud of. Delaware, in effect, chose “the courage to step forward first.”

Simply by holding the coin and asking, “Why was this image engraved here?”, you naturally come face to face with how the nation of America began.