D.C. Gets 25 Cents' Worth of Respect

To legislators, not including the District was simply an oversight. But to city residents, it was one more indignity, on top of not having a voting member in Congress and having its spending and local laws subjected to federal review.

"We get snubbed, disrespected, belittled, forgotten, overshadowed and minimized in every way," said WTOP radio political commentator Mark Plotkin, a virtual thesaurus of how the city is disparaged, denigrated, underrated and calumniated.

"At least we'll be on the quarter," he said. "There's so much more to go. But it's a metaphor for our status, our standing in the world."

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) called the chance to highlight the city's identity on a quarter "a very exciting opportunity."

The triumph came the same week that Norton won back the D.C. postmark for the city, which lost its philatelic identity after the 2001 anthrax attacks. Since then, the city's mail has been sent to suburban Maryland for processing, and much of it has carried Maryland postmarks.

Symbolic victories? Perhaps.

But symbols matter, said D.C. Council member Jim Graham.

"They particularly matter when you're left out," the Ward 1 Democrat said. "So we're glad to be in."

The design of the District coin is up to the local government, Serrano said. "Maybe they'll put the new Nats stadium on it?" he ventured.

Fenty said the selection of the design would involve "maximum resident input." In a city where activists have launched their own Olympic curling team and tried to get RFK Stadium renamed Taxation Without Representation Field, there is no shortage of ideas.

Paul Strauss (D), the city's shadow senator, suggested avoiding federal icons such as the Capitol and choosing a truly local symbol.

"I don't know if we could put Ben's Chili Bowl on there," he mused.

Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) suggested that the quarter feature Benjamin Banneker, the African American scientist who helped survey the District in the 1790s, or the city flag. "The D.C. flag must have 51 on it, for the 51st state," he specified. Alas, the rules for the quarters prohibit state flags.

The city has already used its license plates, stamped "Taxation Without Representation," to trumpet its lack of voting rights. Some have speculated the city might try to put that motto on its quarters.

If so, the city might get a less-than-enthusiastic reception from the U.S. Mint. And Mint officials have to approve the design, Serrano pointed out. "Why do I think the Mint will say, ' Guys!' "

Plotkin said the coin should feature a prominent Washingtonian, such as anti-slavery leader Frederick Douglass or civil rights lawyer Joseph L. Rauh. The quarter program doesn't allow busts of historic figures, but Illinois's coin features a head-to-ankle image of Abraham Lincoln inside an outline of the state.

"Not a monument," Plotkin insisted. "A human being, since we're neglected, ignored, overlooked, diminished in every other way."

Not a panda? No cherry blossoms?

"Exactly the opposite," Plotkin said.