ALBUQUERQUE — Arif Khan wants to hold a New Mexico quarter in his hand and see the reaction of schoolchildren to a coin that honors their state.

"It's been a long process, and we're looking forward to seeing an actual quarter," said Khan, administrator for the New Mexico Coin Commission, appointed in 2005 to work out the design of the coin honoring the 47th state.

New Mexico's quarter — one of the last in the nation's series of commemorative state quarters — will be released April 7. Gov. Bill Richardson and the director of the U.S. Mint, Edmond Moy, plan a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda that day and will hand out shiny new quarters to children under age 18.

The coin features a topographical map representing New Mexico's vast landscape, overlaid by Zia Pueblo's sacred sun symbol — a circle with four straight lines of varying length radiating from four directions. The top of the coin bears the name "New Mexico" and the statehood date of 1912. The state's nickname, "The Land of Enchantment," appears near the bottom left.

The design makes up the coin's "tails" side. George Washington's bust is on the "heads" side.

The design was done by an engraver at the Mint from suggestions submitted by the commission, which developed its recommendations from descriptions from New Mexicans who answered the state's invitation to say what the coin should look like — in narratives of no more than 150 words.

The commission received just over 1,000 suggestions, Khan said. The Mint required that recommendations be sent in as narratives, rather than as drawings, to get more participation.

The seven-member coin commission decided the design should incorporate the two most popular suggestions — the Zia and New Mexico's landscape, Khan said.

Some people wanted specific landscapes, such as the Sandia Mountains or Shiprock, or specific sites, such as Taos Pueblo or the Palace of the Governors, Khan said. Other suggestions were more general "about the beauty of the landscape," he said.

"The commission shied away from (showing) one thing. It's hard to have one thing represent the whole state," Khan said.

The final design developed as the commission and the Mint worked back and forth, Khan said. Richardson last April approved the commission's choice from four designs.

Zia Pueblo approved the use of the sacred Zia symbol, which has been on the New Mexico flag since 1925.

Pueblo tribal administrator Peter Pino has said the coin commission called early to ask about using the symbol, and the pueblo approved it. Since the mid-1990s, the pueblo has formally objected to the state and private entities using the symbol without permission.

Khan said pueblo leaders had "no problems with something that's honoring New Mexico and puts us out there to the whole country."

The Mint started issuing commemorative quarters in 1999. Five new quarters are minted each year honoring states in the order they joined the union, beginning with Delaware. New Mexico is in the last group with Oklahoma, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii.

Becky Bailey, the Mint's public affairs director, said New Mexico quarters are expected to be in banks around the state the day of the launch, but that people attending the Capitol unveiling can be "absolutely sure" of getting one right away.

"People can line up and exchange their $10 bill for a $10 roll of quarters, 40 in roll," she said.

She called New Mexico's quarter "an especially beautiful coin to be proud of."

IF YOU GO

What: Launch of New Mexico commemorative quarter
Who: U.S. Mint director and Gov. Bill Richardson
Where: State Capitol Rotunda
When: 11 a.m. April 7