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Checkback:
Alabama quarter won't be freshman's design alone

The commemorative quarter for Alabama will not be known as the Peterson Quarter.

As a freshman last year, Amy Peterson submitted a design that became a finalist for the commemorative quarter of her home state. The selection process continues, but a spokesman in the Alabama governor's office says officials at the mint determined her design was just too "beautiful and detailed" (the spokesman's words) to be reproduced on something the size of a quarter.

Earlier this year the mint narrowed the choices to six potential designs, some of which incorporate elements suggested by Peterson. These include Cherokee Indian Chief Sequoyah, who devised an alphabet for his tribe that is still in use today.

The mint's six suggested designs were reviewed earlier this year by a pair of advisory commissions. Refined designs incorporating the commissions' suggestions were supposed to be shown to state officials in June. The state will then have till the end of July to make its recommendation.

The final word on quarter designs rests with the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, whose choice for Alabama's quarter is expected to be made known by late summer or early fall, the governor's spokesman said. The quarters are being issued in the order the states joined the union. Alabama is the 22^nd state, and its quarter is expected to be issued next spring.

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Notre Dame Magazine, summer 2002