DCist: Duke is People's Choice for D.C. Quarter

Andrew Wiseman

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:47:16 -0500

I thought the Frederick Douglass design was the best looking one. But I voted for Coach Janky Spanky.

techne

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:03:42 -0500

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), the city's congressional delegate, said that Ellington had been her top choice, because he represented the city more than the other candidates. "He took music lessons here; he grew up here; his life was all D.C.," she said. All DC except for how he achieved fame in NYC and stayed there his whole life.

erahk0

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:47:39 -0500

Should have been the other Duke .. Duke Zeibert. He's a more qualifying zombie.

mellbell

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:59:33 -0500

@Moose: Both designs show Ellington and Douglass covering their crotch for some unknown reason. Very sketchy.

angrypenguin

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:09:09 -0500

Hmm. I think Zombie Duke Ellington might be at the Hotel Continental in this shot.

OldPosterKnownAsCranky

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:13:48 -0500

Do the mash! Do the Monster Mash! The Monster Mash! It's a graveyard smash!

miss bee

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:37:53 -0500

well, maybe he was the first zombie dude to do the zombie march around the washington monument. that's kind of DC-ish. and i bet, if you give me five minutes, we can have that fact validated by the DC wikipedia page.

Moose

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:35:18 -0500

The zombie Duke picture was no worse than the one for Douglas that looked like he was just caught looking at pr0n at his desk.

Reid

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:24:51 -0500

BeyondDC: What you're thinking of is that the Treasury discouraged having a person, but didn't prohibit it. They did, however, outright disallow any head or bust shots (I guess because it would throw off the whole "heads-tails" thing). So states are able to have specific people, but they have to be full-body images. Hence Caesar Rodney on the horse, Hellen Keller in the chair, and Zombie Duke Ellington slowly righting himself on his search for brainz.

Bethesdaist

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:22:56 -0500

Helen Keller is also on a state quarter. I still wish Marvin Gaye had been up for the honor, but oh well.

Q

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:17:42 -0500

Caesar Rodney is on one of the state quarters.

Mojotron

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:17:32 -0500

That pic makes it look like Duke Ellington is a zombie rising from the grave.

BeyondDC

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:15:08 -0500

Are we sure Paulson won't reject us again? Wasn't one of the design guidelines "no faces"? Or am I hallucinating? None of the other state quarters honor a single person to such great extent. Only Illinois comes at all close, and even then there are some key differences. I wouldn't be surprised if Treasury just comes up with its own design, since we seem intent on breaking the rules.

iAManugget

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:58:38 -0500

WE WIN! WOOHOOO

stmove

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:39:14 -0500

Typical self-loathing DC, we pick as a city icon someone who was mainly known for the work and the life they lived in NYC. Apprently we love people who were raised here, got thier start, and then said "hell I gotta get outa here."

Reid

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:23:18 -0500

That image is not a great one of Duke Ted Kennedy Ellington. I'd rather see him actually playing the piano. Or anywhere near the age he was when he actually lived in DC.