New state quarters draw crowd, make big impression

By Keith Purtell
Phoenix Staff Writer

January 29, 2008 12:29 am

— Mildred Bruce, 79, was one in a long line of people waiting for the 11 a.m. Monday release of the Oklahoma commemorative state quarter at BancFirst.
Bruce was at BancFirst’s location at York Street and Shawnee Bypass. The new quarters feature the official state bird and the state wildflower: the scissor-tailed flycatcher and the Gaillardia puchella, or Indian blanket.
“I’m getting these for my grandchildren,” Bruce said. “I hope they keep them, but they may spend them. I have seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Their ages are 1 to 41.”
Even before deciding the Oklahoma quarters would make a good gift, Bruce has been interested in coins.
“I have a collection, including an 1848 big cent,” she said. “I have pennies, Kennedy half dollars, quarters, and silver dollars.”
Bruce got an unexpected preview of what her coins would look like when BancFirst President John Barton went down the line of customers giving out single quarters sealed in a colorful postcard. Bruce looked with admiration at the coin’s design.
“I’m proud of this,” she said.
The 11 a.m. release was timed to coincide with an official kickoff in Oklahoma City featuring Gov. Brad Henry and United States Mint Acting Deputy Director Dan Shaver. Oklahomans have had quite a wait for their own quarter; it is 46th of the United States Mint’s popular 50 State Quarters Program.
The design was selected in a statewide online vote that drew more than 148,000 votes.
Shannon George, marketing officer for BancFirst, said she was pleased to see how many people turned out for the release.
“It’s a huge honor for BancFirst to be selected by the governor’s office to be the first to release these Oklahoma quarters,” she said. “We’re hearing a lot of great stories from all across the state about people being lined up in our lobbies. This is a nice surprise.”
George said the BancFirst locations in Muskogee had $4,000 in new quarters on Monday. Customers were limited to one $10 roll of 40 quarters. The coin will be officially released to all banks on Wednesday.
“People have been asking us for weeks and weeks when they would be available,” George said. “They also asked about the design; a lot of them weren’t sure what it would look like. I like the design; I think it’s perfect.”

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