Washington
"The Evergreen State." On the reverse, a salmon leaping against a backdrop of Mount Rainier is engraved.
Washington is a state at the northwestern edge of the United States, bordering the Pacific Ocean. Because it is covered with evergreen coniferous forests all year round, its nickname is “The Evergreen State.” For reference, it shares only its name with the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C., and is a completely different place.
The reverse of the coin depicts a single salmon leaping powerfully above the water, with the majestic Mount Rainier rising behind it. Below is engraved the nickname “The Evergreen State.”
The salmon is a fish that lives moving between rivers and the sea, and it has long held an important place in this region’s nature and in people’s lives. Snow-covered Mount Rainier is a symbolic peak that represents Washington, and by capturing these two in a single scene, the coin shows the great nature of the Pacific Northwest.
Washington became the 42nd state of the Union on November 11, 1889. Around the same time as Montana, it took its place amid the flow in which the various lands of the West joined the United States as states one after another.
Seeing the leaping salmon and the towering mountain on the coin, the fresh scenery of Washington, where water, forests, and mountains blend together, is drawn before your eyes.