Santa Fe-centered coin commission considering four Zia symbol designs for state quarter

The four designs being considered for the state’s quarter all center around the Zia symbol, but even more interesting to people who don’t live in Santa Fe might be the fact that five of the six members of the state’s coin commission, appointed by Gov. Bill Richardson, are from Santa Fe.

The sixth is District Judge Fernando Macias of Las Cruces.

The commission had also been considering designs that included ristras, a mushroom cloud and space aliens, but has narrowed the choice to four variations of the Zia symbol on top of the state, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Click here to read the newspaper’s article. You’ll also be able to view the four designs under consideration.

A look through the designs might reveal the Santa Fe-centeredness of the commission: Two of the designs place the center of the Zia symbol over the Santa Fe area, instead of the center of the state. The designs that do that look distinctly anti-feng shui. The two that place the Zia in the center of the coin have much better balance.

The commission will soon make a recommendation to Richardson, who must sign off on it along with the director of the U.S. Mint and the U.S. treasury secretary, the newspaper reported.

The final choice should be announced in April.