99% Invisible

The Most Exciting Change America Has Ever Seen

June 23, 2026·43 min·6-min readnarrativearts
Podzilla Summary (6 min)
TLDR
The U.S. State Quarters program, launched in 1999, was far more than a civic celebration—it was a government-engineered profit scheme that leveraged public fascination with coin collecting to generate over $2.6 billion in seigniorage by pulling quarters out of circulation. The episode rev

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Guest

K

Katie Thornton

narrative on 99% Invisible

Mentions

Books, people, and resources mentioned in this episode.

People

Philip DiehlPaul JacksonJesse KraftCaroline TurcoMike Castle

Companies

U.S. MintFederal Reserve

Products & Tools

State QuartersClad coins

Topics

EconomicsLong Form JournalismTrue CrimeUs Politics

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