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. 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.

South Carolina became a state on May 23rd, 1788, and was the eighth of the 50 State Quarters to be issued. Several distinct images are present on the coin: an outline of the state’s border, with a star marking the position of the capital; a Carolina Wren (the state bird) perched on a branch of Yellow Jessamine/Jasmine (the state flower); and a Palmetto tree. This last image is a reference to the Revolutionary War, when colonists built a fort out of Palmetto logs and prevented the British from gaining control of Charlestown Harbor.