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.

Massachusetts became a state on February 6th, 1788, and was the sixth of the 50 State Quarters to be issued. Two distinct images are present on the coin; the background features an outline of the state’s border, and the foreground features a depiction of “The Minuteman”, a famous statue that stands at the Minuteman National Historical Park in Concord. Minutemen were a colonial military force known for their ability to assemble at a minute’s notice, hence their name.