2003 Missouri State Quarters

Description

2003 Missouri State Quarters
Obverse Side
The obverse will continue to bear the familiar restored 1932 John Flannagan image of George Washington.
Reverse Side
Missouri became the 24th state on August 10, 1821, as part of the Missouri Compromise. While much of the state’s history is tied to the mighty rivers that flow through it, the Show Me State got its nickname because of the devotion of its people to simple common sense. In 1899, Rep. Willard D. Vandiver said Frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I’m from Missouri. You’ve got to show me. It is easy to imagine President Thomas Jefferson saying show me as he sent Lewis and Clark forth on their 1,500-mile trek into the uncharted Louisiana Purchase territory. Their 1,500-mile journey, which some claim was the greatest U.S. military expedition ever, began in St. Charles—just 20 miles west of St. Louis—and gave rise to America’s westward expansion.