Loving Half Dome to Death

When it came time to design its state quarter for the U.S. Mint, California had a wealth of iconic images from which to choose: larger-than-life personalities, grand structures (the Golden Gate Bridge would have been an obvious choice), and countless natural wonders. In the end, a state not known for dwelling on the past did just that, reaching deep into history to create an illustration with a strong conservation theme depicting the ancient California condor, the great naturalist John Muir, and Yosemite's 87 million year old Half Dome.

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