Five of these unique coins were released over the course of each year, every one representing a different state. The order of their release was determined by when that state became an official part of the USA, either by ratifying the Constitution or being accepted into the Union. The obverse of the coins features the standard imagery of 25-cent pieces – a profile portrait of George Washington – but the reverse features an array of images and symbols representing the history and culture of that particular state. The reverse also features the year that the coin was cast and the year of the state’s official founding.

New York became a state on July 26th, 1788, and was the eleventh of the 50 State Quarters to be issued. This is represented by the series of eleven stars strung around the border of the coin. The image in the background is an outline of the state itself, with lines representing the Hudson River and the Erie Canal. The foreground features an image of the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France to the United States and a site seen by millions of immigrants as they entered New York City's harbor in search of a better life (also emphasized by the words "Gateway to Freedom").