Blaise Hayward turns pocket change into sharply observed photographs about what still holds America together. 

Photographer Blaise Hayward’s 50 State Quarters Project

Canadian-born Blaise Hayward didn’t set out to create a photographic series about American identity. He was just emptying a piggy bank. 

It was the summer of 2023, and Hayward, a professional photographer, sat at the kitchen table of his family’s New York City apartment, rolling loose change he had poured from a cast-iron monkey bank. The statehood quarters—with their designs celebrating each state’s history, landmarks, and symbols—caught his attention immediately. “They looked so cool,” he recalls. But alongside their individuality, he noticed a shared detail. 

“I saw that the phrase e pluribus unum—‘out of many, one’—was on every coin,” says Hayward, 61. “I started to really think about that phrase. It resonated with me.” 

At the time, civic unity felt in short supply. In the 30 years he had lived, worked, and raised a family in the United States—after immigrating from Toronto to Manhattan with his wife, Rebecca, in 1996—he had never seen the country so politically fractured and oppositional. “There was all this divisiveness in Washington, very much an us-against-you dynamic,” he says. 

Liberty and Justice for All

The idea came to Hayward quickly: photograph all 50 state quarters in intimate, close-up portraiture. Each state—equal by design, distinct in identity—would get the same artistic treatment, without any hierarchy. The coins wouldn’t be pristine but the opposite, worn down by circulation, in all their scratched, dulled, knocked-around glory. “I wanted quarters that had passed through countless hands,” he says.  

It was also a celebration of an only-in-America phenomena: living in Manhattan, Hayward had long noticed how strongly the country’s citizens identify with their home states, even after moving away. “Americans are very state-proud,” he says. “That’s interesting.” 

From Commercial Photography to Passion Projects

Hayward’s idea for a numismatic series arrived at a turning point in his career. For more than two decades, he was a sought-after commercial photographer, shooting major campaigns for brands like Chase and Verizon. When the industry contracted—and the pandemic finished the job—he pivoted to fine art.

He began creating bronze and stone sculptures, along with tightly-focused photographic series, including botanical studies of single blossoms. In early 2023, he turned his lens on vintage concert tickets, transforming creased, dirty stubs—from a 1966 Beatles show in Tokyo to an Iggy Pop concert in Croatia in 1991—into gallery-worthy images. The quarters, with their built-in backstory, felt like a natural next subject. 

Finding the right coins required persistence. Hayward made countless trips to his local bank, fielding quizzical looks from increasingly curious tellers. Searching for specific states, he sometimes cracked open dozens of rolls for a single match. Minnesota—the most elusive—appeared in the final roll the bank had on hand. He photographed the series over two days in his Union Square studio, slightly elevating each coin so it cast a natural shadow, one that shifts subtly depending on the coin’s wear pattern. The digital pigment prints, produced on matte cotton-rag paper to emphasize texture, range in size from 16 x 16 inches to 42 x 42 inches.  

What Does the Pennsylvania Quarter Represent?

For Hayward, the Pennsylvania quarters carry a particular resonance. “I think it sums up where we are right now,” he says. The design is layered with symbolism: an outline of the state, an image of the bronze Commonwealth statue crowning the capitol dome in Harrisburg, a keystone, and the state motto—“Virtue, Liberty, and Independence” which we take a deeper look into. The phrase traces back to the original Quaker ideals of the state’s founder William Penn, who envisioned a society rooted in moral conduct, religious tolerance, and civic responsibility. “I think all three concepts are equally fragile in 2026,” says Hayward. 

Still, he isn’t cynical. After more than two decades in the U.S., Hayward became a citizen and now holds dual citizenship. Experiencing the country as both an insider and an outsider simultaneously gives him a unique vantage point to understand the country’s strengths and weaknesses. “I like that I’m an immigrant,” he says. “It gives me a different perspective.” 

Hayward is careful not to align his quarter series with any political party or partisan platform. For Americans encountering their own quarter at an outsize scale, his message is direct: “Hope. Unity. Understanding. Optimism. Tolerance,” says Hayward. He pauses. “We can all use more of that.” 

Story by Kathleen Renda
Photos Courtesy of Blaise Hayward

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