The House has approved a bill to replace the American eagle on the backs of quarters with designs celebrating each of the 50 states.
The new quarters - George Washington would remain on the face - would be issued from 1999 to 2008 under the bill passed Tuesday on a 413-6 vote.The coins would be similar to the ones issued in honor of the bicentennial in 1976, said Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., chairman of the House Banking Committee's panel on domestic and international monetary policy.
The new coins would be issued at the rate of five each year, first in the order of the states' ratification of the Constitution, then in order of their admission to the union, said Castle, who sponsored the bill.
A study commissioned by the Treasury Department estimates the program would earn the government between $2.6 billion and $5.1 billion because many people would save the quarters, which cost the government only a few cents to make.