Celebrating National Farm Workers Day the Numismatic Way

National Farm Workers Day is on March 31, and it’s a holiday that harvests a crop of gratitude for the folks who help bring food to our tables. Wait… What’s that? Food comes from the grocery store?

Oy vey… If only more people realized just how critical farm workers are.

Some grow up and tend to the farm working lands their families have tended for generations. Others come here as migrants from other countries doing the jobs that few of us would ever consider for day-to-day employment. No matter who the farmhands are, they all do important work in helping to make sure our grocery store shelves, cases, and endcaps can be stocked with the good food that we all depend on each day.

Food and agriculture are such an important part of our daily lives and America’s way of life that the two themes joined together on the reverse of the 2004 Wisconsin Quarter. The coin, issued during the middle of the popular 50 State Quarters program, features the head of a cow, an ear of corn, and a wheel of cheese unified above a banner emblazoned with the word “FORWARD.” Certain Denver emissions of the 2004 Wisconsin Quarter stole headlines when it was discovered that some examples of the 2004-D Wisconsin Quarter bear an artifact in its design roughly resembling an extra corn stalk leaf.

Some of the 2004-D Extra Leaf Wisconsin Quarters appear to show this artistic aberration with an extra leaf “high” while others show the extra leaf “low.” Examples of the die variety can fetch north of $100.

The 2004-D Extra Leaf Wisconsin Quarters enchant collectors, who enjoy the diversity of designs seen across the 50 State Quarters. Certainly these and other modern coins issued by the U.S. Mint in recent years have captured a kaleidoscope of national culture, including the quintessentially American world of agriculture and the people who contribute their lives to feeding millions.