Hung, Drawn and Quarters!

I like to collect things. I hoard unnecessary ticket stubs and receipts with the hope that I will one day compile them all into a scrap book which I do occasionally get around to doing. As a child I collected gems and crystals and kept them in boxes and every now and then would get them all out and spread them out on my floor and polish them all. When I last lived in America I bought a pencil wherever I went. Now you may mock the people who buy the overpriced pencils in the gift stores of touristy places but they are in fact the best keepsake from any where; they are cheap, affordable, they come in hundreds of colours, shapes and sizes and they fit into any travel suitcase! In fact I came across them as I was packing for America. They were all stuffed into a pencil case which barely opens and which I did in fact fail to close afterwards.

Now you may be wondering where all this rambling is going, but I have found something new to collect and I am in fact reallllly excited! Well, it's not quite new seeing as my parents began the collection in Virginia (I lived there 2004-2007) but that's besides the point, I am choosing to continue it. My latest obsession is American quarters. Between 1999 and 2008 quarters featuring unique designs of all 50 states were put into circulation (Wanna see? Just scroll down*). We moved back to England in 2007 and so I'm missing a few**. The fun, however, doesn't stop there. In 2009 they released quarters for the territories of the US such as Puerto Rico and Guam etc (See previous blog for previous mumbling!) AND as of this year they have started producing a collection entitled "America the Beautiful" featuring various state parks and national sites from across the country (see here)! How cool is that?! Are you excited?! Sadly the latter series continues until 2021 so I don't quite know how I'm going to succeed in completing that collection... I guess I will just have to come back!

Since I've been here, I've collected two new ones, Hawaii and Yellowstone National Park, and so have now decided to start spending more cash in an attempt to get more change and thus more quarters. My plan is fool proof!

* I know Wikipedia isn't quite the valid source you were looking for... but it has all the pretty pictures!
**I'm missing Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona and Alaska so check your wallets people... that's definitely not cheating!