#charles vickers

Here is the Nebraska state quarter.  What do you think?

Well, I think Chimney Rock is pretty awesome.  I sincerely wish to visit there, possibly this summer if I can fund a road trip out West.  I’m not so thrilled with the actual illustration of Chimney Rock, though.  It looks more like an old finger than a national treasure.  

If the coin’s depiction of Chimney Rock wasn’t enough to bring you back to your Oregon Trail days, the coin’s designers chose to include a covered wagon on the coin.  That way, there is no possible way for you to look at the Nebraska quarter and not think, “I need to avoid cholera at all costs.”  Or, even better, there is no way for you to look at this coin and not think, “I’m going to ask my Native American friend just how deep that river is before I fjord it.” 

The illustration of the sun on this quarter, though, is one of the best I’ve seen in our collection.  The beams look radiant and life-bearing, and I’d like to set up a chair out on Chimney Rock and crack open a bottle of suds while taking in some Vitamin D.

Nebraska’s state motto is “Equality Before the Law” and their state fossil is the Mammoth.  Did they forget about that cool stuff when they decided to just go the Oregon Trail route?  I think so, and it’s a shame.