A Pocketful of History: Four Hundred Years of America--One State Quarter at a Time [Hardcover]

Jim Noles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2008

The U.S. Mint’s Fifty State Quarters Program-its most ambitious program to date-has been a huge popular success. When the final state quarters are released in 2008, many thousands of individuals will have collected one commemorative quarter for each state in the Union. But what can we learn about our country’s history and culture from $12.50 worth of quarters? A Pocketful of History tells the intriguing story behind each state’s quarter: how each state chose its quarter’s design; what is important about the people, scenes, or themes depicted on the coin; and what the collection tells us about how we view ourselves and our heritage. A Pocketful of History will guide readers on a fascinating journey through America’s rich history of change.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his latest, author and attorney Noles (Twenty-Three Minutes to Eternity: The Final Voyage of the Escort Carrier USS Liscome Bay) looks at the 50 State Quarters Program, which, over about ten years, has issued a quarter commemorating each state with a different design. Organized by issue date, each state quarter is given a few pages of background information, including the date of release, the number initially minted and the reasons behind its design. His work is full of information for both novice coin collectors and average Joes, and his otherwise dry account benefits occasionally from witty chapter subtitles and gentle mockery (Wisconsin's state motto, "Forward!", appears to be exhorting a cow head, ear of corn and cheese round "to move along"). While some may assume that there is little mystery behind the state quarters series, Noles finds much to inform, and occasionally startle, making each entry a quick, fulfilling slice of American history. 50 b&w photos
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Review

"Readers will encounter familiar information but also the new and unfamiliar and will come away with a greater appreciation of their pocket change and the valuable history it can offer."—Library Journal

“Even if you are just spending the commemorative quarters to buy soda, bottled water or candy, this book should be added to your personal library. It could be an important introduction to U.S. history for some child who otherwise might suffer from history phobia…It is a fun and easy read full of information that seldom makes it into history text books.”—Roanoke Times

“Even though Noles claims he is not a coin collector himself, he writes with the passionate and attention to detail of a seasoned pro. His book is breezy, informative and fascinating.”—Tucson Citizen 5/8/08

“Few of us ever bother to look at the loose change that jangles in our pockets and purses. Noles reminds us that what’s inscribed on those coins says a lot about the kind of country we are, and what we hope to be.”—Baton Rouge Advocate

“Everyone who collected these quarters—and anyone who loves anecdotal American history—will want to own and read Jim Noles A Pocketful of History.”—Constant Reader column

“This book will be a necessity for collectors of the new quarters, and a good read for older schoolchildren, encapsulating a lot of state history in a readable and unique form.”—Curled Up With a Good Book

“Winsome and valuable…A fascinating look at how politics and personalities shape what we see and how we see it—a history lesson in itself.”—Blogcritics.org

“The general reader will enjoy this book. It is highly recommended to those who have collected the state quarters.”—The Oklahoman, “Book Briefs” 5/25/08

“At the very least, you’ll want to look up the story behind the silver of your home turf.”—Bookgasm.com, 5/29/08

“Numismatists, history buffs and schoolchildren alike will enjoy A Pocketful of History…There’s a lot to be learned here.”—BookPage

“This book is going to make my new hobby even more enjoyable...Noles is an enthusiastic guide.”—Seattle Times, 6/6/08 
 

“A wonderful book on America’s state quarters that belongs in every library. It tells the historical side of each design in a fascinating way.”—COINage, 9/08
 

“A must-have for collectors.”—Acadiana LifeStyle, September 2008

“An enlightening journey through 400 years of American history in twenty-five-cent doses.”—History, Oct/Nov 2008

“Offers a history lesson from each of the states based on the design of their quarter…Each story reveals an interesting snapshot of the state…Fascinating reading.”—Kalamazoo Gazette, 11/29/08

“Each state has its own chapter, and the stories are fun.”—Magill Book Reviews

“This state-by-state exploration reveals the historical and cultural significance behind each coin.”—Numismatist, 4/09

“[Noles] reveals the historical and cultural significance behind each coin with lively and entertaining prose…A veritable anthology of truly American stories…Makes an excellent companion on the journey of filling state quarter coin boards.”—The Numismatist

“A well-executed attempt to use the current popular interest in images on pocket change as a means of fostering an appreciation of the American historical experience…Written in a light, conversational style…Noles has done a masterful job of breathing life and interest into a group of quarters.”—American Numismatic Society Magazine

“Good for family road trips or light reading.”—Desert News, 6/7/09

“A book that will entertain anybody. Coin collectors of any age will have to have it…Noles tells his stories well. Every one is moving, and each might be enough to lead a reader to delve further into history of a state, the nation, and perhaps from there to that of the world.”—Internetreviewofbooks.com, June 2009

“Each quarter gets its own chapter in Noles’ book, where history is shared in gentle doses…For Noles’, history is lively and each journey is entertaining and informative. A Pocketful of History is a very good book.”—January, 7/3/09

“Even if you're not a collector, you'll nonetheless be entertained and enlightened—and find yourself looking a lot closer at the next state quarter that lands in your hand.”—American Profile’s web-only “Our Picks Reviews”, 7/16/09

“This book should draw considerable attention from coin collectors…A treasure trove of fun for history fans and anyone interested in American trivia…written in a simple yet friendly narrative.”—Augusta Metro Spirit, 8/5/09

“The designs on the coins reveal that much of what we cherish and value involves natural resources, natural wonders, and flora and fauna.”—Natural Resources & Environment(ABA), Summer, 2009

“Everyone has them, most collect them and everyone knows about them. This is the ultimate companion guide to the series…The best companion book to collecting the State Quarters. The story behind the stories…[An] excellent, fast and fun read.”—“Our History Project,” 4/2/10

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306815788
• ISBN-13: 978-0306815782
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #334,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars History in your pocket or on your wall, May 14, 2008

By 

Stephen N. Foster - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Pocketful of History: Four Hundred Years of America--One State Quarter at a Time (Hardcover)

History, Sartre said, is what happens behind our backs (or something to that effect). It's also something that jangles in our pockets, if we carry or save or even spend quarters from the 50 State Quarters Program.

We know this because Jim Noles has taken the time and expended great effort to write the winsome and valuable A Pocketful of History: Four Hundred Years of America--One State Quarter at a Time (Da Capo Press).

Following Canada's lead in the mid 1990s, the US government decided to issue, over a period of ten years, commemorative quarters representing some significant and representative event or symbol or enduring attribute of each of the fifty states, issued in the order in which all fifty states came into the union. There is more than one history at work here, that being a coin's depiction of a state's historical self-definition -- but, in addition, much to our benefit, Noles has taken the time to tell us the stories behind the states' decisions and debates on which events or symbols to use, and how best to depict them.

Those descriptions in themselves prove to be a fascinating look at how politics and personalities shape what we see and how we see it -- a history lesson in itself.

In scrupulous -- but not overbearing -- detail, Noles tells us about Delaware's Ceasar Rodney who, in 1776, suffering from a debilitating cancer, rode 80 miles in one day from his home state to Philadelphia just in time to cast his vote for independence; or Colorado's perhaps not unexpected depiction of the majestic Rockies as a symbol of the beauty and natural resources of the state; or North Dakota's display of bison and the stunning buttes and mountains that make up the 39th state's harshly beautiful Badlands.

The legislation to create the 50 State Quarters Program was signed into law in 1997 by President Bill Clinton, and the plan was to issue the quarters incrementally over a ten-year period. By the end of 2008, with the minting of Hawaii's quarter (Hawaiian monarch King Kamehameha I stretching his hand toward the eight major Hawaiian Islands), the Quarters program officially ended, and it has proven to be an enormous success -- both financially for the government and aesthetically and historically for numismatists and otherwise interested parties everywhere.

Noles, thankfully, provides us a comprehensive look at the very distinct, yet commonly bound, 50 states that make up the U.S. He does so with enough erudition to make the book substantive while interjecting the perfect amount of lightheartedness and whimsy to make the book eminently readable.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for school kids, September 12, 2008

By 

Ruthie (Seattle) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Pocketful of History: Four Hundred Years of America--One State Quarter at a Time (Hardcover)

This was a fantastic book that should be required reading for all students. It gave a quick, 5 page, history of the quarter, that most people would never have known. I am giving this to all my grandkids for Christmas. The research the author did was incredible.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars pocketful of history, June 20, 2008

By 

Michael W. Patrick "mike patrick" (pensacola, florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Pocketful of History: Four Hundred Years of America--One State Quarter at a Time (Hardcover)

this is an outstanding book; the perfect companion to any state quarter
collection. although collectors would've liked to see more details like
issue dates and quantities minted.