Twelve entries were placed on display in the Capitol Front Lobby and on the Internet for the public to vote on Tuesday through Thursday, June 15-17. The Kentucky Quarter Project Committee, headed by Mrs. Patton, received nearly 1,800 design concepts from people across the state. The committee then narrowed the submissions to a smaller pool, from which Governor and Mrs. Patton chose 12 finalists for the public to vote on.
Each state will submit a design for the back of the coin for the fifty States Commemorative Coin Program, established by federal legislation in 1997. Kentucky's quarter will be released 15th of all the state quarters because it was the 15th state. Kentucky's quarter will be put into circulation in October 2001, but commemorative versions of the coin will be available from the U.S. Mint earlier.