Tennessee
The home of American popular music. It engraves a "Musical Heritage" with a fiddle, trumpet, guitar, and sheet music.
Tennessee is a state located in the southeastern United States, and its nickname is “The Volunteer State.” It is said to be a name given because there were many people who stepped forward to volunteer whenever the nation faced hardship. Issued in 2002, this quarter was the sixteenth coin to appear in the 50 State series.
On the coin’s reverse are drawn three instruments side by side. On the left is a fiddle (violin), in the center a guitar, and on the right a trumpet, with sheet music flowing between them. And there is a band bearing the words “Musical Heritage,” along with three stars.
These three instruments each symbolize a stream of music that Tennessee has nurtured. The fiddle brings to mind the country music of the eastern mountain regions, the guitar various forms of popular music, and the trumpet the blues. The sheet music and stars show that all these sounds came together to become one rich musical tradition.
Tennessee joined the Union as the sixteenth state of the United States on June 1, 1796. Over long years, in this region songs grew together with people’s lives, and that music has today become a culture enjoyed by people all over the world, beyond America.
When we ponder why three instruments are held on a single coin, we can see what Tennessee wishes to be remembered for. This quarter quietly reminds us of the fact that “a state’s pride need not be some enormous building or battle, but may be the songs of its people.”