November 28, 2001, to February 15, 2002

• The 25-member Michigan Quarter Commission is announced and a statewide contest launched to find conceptual designs for Michigan's new quarter. Michigan residents submit design concepts for the new state quarter to the Michigan Quarter Commission. Over 4,300 designs are received.

January to March 15, 2002

• The Commission reviews, discusses, deliberated and narrows down the number of finalist design concepts. It selects five final design themes.

March to April, 2002

• The five designs are submitted, with text descriptions, to the United States Mint.
• More than 1,500 Michigan residents, who used the state outline and the Great Lakes theme (which appear on all five final themes) in their design submission, receive a certificate of recognition.

Summer and Fall, 2002

• The U.S. Mint begins its review for appropriateness and coinability, producing drawings of Michigan's concepts. The U.S. Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee reviews the drawings and recommends candidate designs. The U.S. Fine Arts Commission will review candidate designs. Last, the designs are presented to the Secretary of the Treasury for review and approval.

2003

• The U.S. Mint completes its review process* and returns approved designs back to the state for the governor's final selection of a state design.
• Governor Granholm announces the chosen design for Michigan's new quarter, October 1. Ceremonies at the Capitol and events at the Michigan Library and Historical Center mark the occasion.

2004

• Michigan's new coin is minted. It is released by the U.S. Mint on Michigan's Statehood Day, January 26, 2004, the nation's first new state quarter of the year.