Release 46 of 50 · 2008
A scissor-tailed flycatcher glides over Indian blanket flowers, joining two living state emblems in an open-prairie portrait of the Sooner State.
Scissor-tailed flycatcher and Indian blanket flowers
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United States MintOklahoma State Banking DepartmentU.S. Commission of Fine ArtsCitizens Coinage Advisory Committee
Public Law 105-124 ordered reverses by ratification or admission. Oklahoma entered the Union on November 16, 1907 as the forty-sixth state, making this the program's forty-sixth design and first 2008 release. One reverse cannot represent sovereign Tribal nations, Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory, removals and allotment, Black towns, land runs, agriculture, oil, Dust Bowl migration, cities, arts, or contemporary communities. The natural-emblem design is welcoming but deliberately partial.
U.S. Government Publishing OfficeUnited States Mint
The scissor-tailed flycatcher became Oklahoma's state bird in 1951; its long forked tail and summer presence make it a conspicuous plains bird. Indian blanket (Gaillardia pulchella), red with yellow-tipped petals, became the state wildflower in 1986. The Oklahoma Historical Society distinguishes it from the Oklahoma rose, the state flower. 'Sooner State' is contextual identity, not an inscription on this reverse.
The selected reverse avoids a monument, map, or industrial inventory. A native bird moves through a field of native wildflowers, presenting Oklahoma through seasonal life and open space rather than one town or event. The Mint says Indian blanket salutes Native American heritage and the state's wildlife-rich native long-grass prairies.
That official explanation needs a boundary. A flower emblem can acknowledge Native American heritage, but it does not depict or speak for Oklahoma's sovereign Tribal nations, name any people, or tell histories of removal, land loss, survival, government, and living cultures. The coin's prairie is symbolic rather than a botanically mapped place.
Five federal designs offered competing state portraits: a people-and-industries montage; bird and wildflower; windmill, oil derrick, wheat, and Pioneer Woman; a related state-outline industrial composition; and state outline, calumet, and Pioneer Woman. Public voting and the governor favored the least crowded natural emblem.
World Coin Book interpretation: the bird's diagonal body and spread tail supply motion above a dense horizontal flower bed. The pale open field around the wings lets the small quarter read clearly, while repeated circular blooms counter the long angular tail.
The reverse leaves out the Sooner nickname, state motto, tribal names and governments, specific landscape, towns, historic people, oil and agriculture, and difficult territorial history. Its identity rests on recognizable emblems and ecological grace, not a comprehensive account.
United States MintOklahoma State Banking DepartmentU.S. Commission of Fine ArtsCitizens Coinage Advisory CommitteeOklahoma Historical Society
The federal process asked governors to develop three to five concepts. The Mint screened legality and coinability, developed art, consulted CFA and CCAC, returned approved choices for a state recommendation, and the Treasury Secretary retained final approval.
Oklahoma's contemporary state account says the process began in February 2006. Citizens submitted more than 1,000 concepts; these became ten narratives. A vote by Oklahoma citizens narrowed the field to five, which went to the Mint for artistic development.
The five designs were: people and industries around a state outline; scissor-tailed flycatcher above Indian blanket and prairie; windmill, oil derrick, wheat, and Pioneer Woman; state outline with oil derrick, Pioneer Woman, and wheat; and state outline divided by a calumet with Pioneer Woman.
On January 18, 2007, CFA recommended design 2. On January 23, CCAC scored design 5 at 21 of 24 and design 2 at 7, preferring the historical-symbol composition while praising design 2's artistry but questioning its historical breadth.
The final Mint renderings returned to Oklahoma for statewide voting. On April 30 Governor Brad Henry announced the bird-and-wildflower recommendation based on the overwhelming citizen vote; Treasury approved it May 25. Reviewed records do not provide exact vote totals, certification controls, ten-narrative text, or complete artist assignments.
U.S. Department of the TreasuryOklahoma State Banking DepartmentU.S. Commission of Fine ArtsCitizens Coinage Advisory Committee
Procedures varied by state and changed during the program; each researched state page must document its actual path.
Five documented Mint designs combined natural emblems, people and industries, wheat, windmill, oil derrick, state outline, a calumet, and Ponca City's Pioneer Woman statue. CFA selected design 2; CCAC selected design 5. They are alternatives, not coin varieties. No gallery is reconstructed because the reviewed records do not establish image rights or every candidate artist assignment.
U.S. Commission of Fine ArtsCitizens Coinage Advisory Committee
Official explanation: The Mint identifies Oklahoma's state bird flying with its distinctive tail feathers spread.
Historical context: Oklahoma designated the species its state bird in 1951; its long forked tail gives the bird its common name.
World Coin Book interpretation: World Coin Book interpretation: the long tail and raised wings create the reverse's strongest diagonals and sense of lift.
Official explanation: The Mint places the state wildflower below the bird and says it salutes Native American heritage and native long-grass prairie.
Historical context: Indian blanket became Oklahoma's state wildflower in 1986; it is distinct from the Oklahoma rose, the state flower.
World Coin Book interpretation: World Coin Book interpretation: repeated blooms create a textured ground plane and make flight legible above habitat.
Official explanation: The Mint describes a field of similar wildflowers and connects it with Oklahoma's native long-grass prairies.
Historical context: The relief is an emblematic habitat, not an identified preserve or exact ecological survey.
World Coin Book interpretation: World Coin Book interpretation: open field around the wings prevents the small relief from becoming as crowded as several rejected designs.
United States MintU.S. Commission of Fine ArtsCitizens Coinage Advisory Committee
Official explanation: The reverse bears OKLAHOMA, 1907, 2008, E PLURIBUS UNUM, SG, and PH.
Historical context: 1907 records statehood; SG and PH identify designer Susan Gamble and sculptor Phebe Hemphill.
World Coin Book interpretation: World Coin Book interpretation: perimeter legends contain the airborne scene while small credits remain subordinate to bird and flowers.
Oklahoma's 1951 state bird, recognizable by its long forked tail.
Oklahoma's 1986 state wildflower, shown as a field beneath the bird.
Participants who supplied concepts and voted in two narrowing stages.
Governor who announced the state recommendation on April 30, 2007.
Artistic Infusion Program artist credited with the reverse design.
U.S. Mint medallic artist credited with sculpting the reverse.
State bird
State wildflower
Program authorization
State process begins
CFA review
CCAC review
Governor recommendation
Treasury approval
Federal release
John Flanagan's Washington portrait, adapted and sculpted by William Cousins, appears on the shared obverse. Citizen concepts became ten narratives and then five designs developed by Mint sculptor-engravers and Artistic Infusion Program artists. The Mint credits Susan Gamble as reverse designer and Phebe Hemphill as reverse sculptor; SG and PH appear in relief. Candidate-by-candidate assignments and a complete revision log were not recovered.
| Issue | Finish | Catalog mintage |
|---|---|---|
| 2008-P | Circulation | 222,000,000 |
| 2008-D | Circulation | 194,600,000 |
| 2008-S | Clad proof | 2,078,112 |
| 2008-S | Silver proof | 1,192,908 |
P and D are circulation issues. Both S issues were sold in proof products; the silver proof is a distinct 90% silver composition. Mintages are established catalog figures retained with an explicit source-audit limit.
Identify the reverse by the flying scissor-tailed flycatcher, spread forked tail, Indian blanket flower field, and OKLAHOMA over 1907. P, D, or S appears on the obverse. P and D are circulation strikes; S coins are proofs. The clad proof has a copper-colored edge core and weighs 5.67 g; the 90% silver proof lacks that stripe and weighs about 6.25 g.
Inspect the bird's head, breast, wing edges, long tail feathers, flower centers and petal tips, legends, SG, and PH. First wear dulls exposed wing, body, tail, and highest flowers. Weak strike or grease can soften feathers, petals, initials, or letters while luster remains elsewhere.
Open fields around the bird reveal contact marks, scuffs, residue, cleaning, and wheel marks. Proofs require checks for hairlines, haze, milk spots, fingerprints, frost breaks, and impaired mirrors. Judge wear, strike weakness, machine doubling, die deterioration, cracks, and post-mint damage separately.
Ordinary worn P and D examples generally occupy the face-value design-set tier. Better circulation coins attract interest through full luster, clean fields, complete tail feathers, crisp wing and flower detail, and legible SG and PH. Clad proofs form a collector-product tier; silver proofs add 90% silver as a separate composition tier. Unsupported error labels or aftermarket color do not create a reliable premium. Compare dated completed transactions for the exact mint, finish, grade, surfaces, and authenticated error status.
One Oklahoma reverse, any circulation mint.
Both circulation facilities.
P, D, clad proof, and silver proof.
Official law and U.S. Mint records establish program facts and image identity. World Coin Book separates official explanation, historical analysis, and editorial interpretation.
Official descriptions, historical context, and World Coin Book interpretation are labeled separately. No live prices are asserted. Last verified: