In December 1997, America's most adventurous coin program became a reality when President Clinton signed legislation authorizing the U.S. Mint to issue the innovative 50 State Quarters collection. Starting in January 1999, each of the 50 states in the Union will be honored on a unique Quarter Dollar commemorative coin. Five states will be featured each year, based on the order in which they ratified the Constitution or became states. Due to the aggressive minting schedule, each State Quarter will be minted for only about 10 weeks. As a result, mintages of each quarter only are to be just a fraction of the "normal" quarters are. Regular issue coins will be minted at both the Philadelphia and the Denver Mints. On the front, otherwise known as the obverse, the specific mintmarks can be found to the right of George Washington's portrait. The small "P" indicates the Philadelphia Mint and the small "D" refers to the Denver.

Ohio is the second State Quarter of the year 2002. Ohio became the 17th state on March 1, 1803 making it the first state to join the Union in the 19th century and Ohio is therefore the 17th state overall to be honored in the State Quarters series. The design honors Ohio as the Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers. The background shows an outline map of Ohio, with the Wright Brothers Flyer airplane on the left side. The right side of the coin depicts an Apollo-era astronaut. More than 20 astronauts call Ohio home.

Each 40-coin roll of State Quarters from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints are in brilliant Uncirculated condition.