US Mint unveils DC quarter showing Duke Ellington

This artist rendering provided by the U.S. Mint shows the Washington, District of Columbia (DC) quarter, featuring Duke Ellington. The quarter is the first of 2009 and the first in the DC and U.S. Territories Quarters Program. (AP Photo/US Mint)

By The Associated Press

Jan. 26, 2009 2:02 PM PT

WASHINGTON —

The nation’s capital now has its own quarter.

The U.S. Mint on Monday released the coin featuring Washington native and jazz great Duke Ellington at his piano. It also has an inscription of the city’s motto, “Justice for All.”

Collectors can go online or to banks to buy two-roll sets and bags of up to 1,000 quarters.

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton says officials are planning an event to celebrate the coin later this month.

Last year, the U.S. Mint rejected designs that included the slogan “Taxation Without Representation.” That refers to the long-running gripe that D.C. residents pay federal taxes without full representation in Congress.

The Mint’s state quarter program finished in November with Hawaii and is moving on to U.S. territories.