Governor Bill Owens, gets to decide what image will represent Colorado in 2006, when our state gets its turn to have its own quarter. Most Coloradoans are lobbying for the mountain skyline, which is indeed probably the first thing that comes to mind when a flatlander thinks of Colorado.

But here’s an idea: "I was hoping for something more like Mesa Verde," said Stephen Dufour, an assistant at a Boulder coin shop.

Lots of states have mountains — all the Rocky Mountain states, to start with, as well as the states along the Pacific. The Tetons are more distinctive; for that matter, so is the Dallas Divide. Other states have their own versions — the Appalachians, the Ozarks, the Smoky Mountains. No, they’re not quite as dramatic as ours, but they probably still qualify.

It’s true that other states have cliff dwellings, but those aren’t as dramatic as ours either. We have the best and the most famous. Tourists who visit southwestern Colorado to see them can see the mountains as well. Ours are as beautiful as those along the Front Range, and they’re a heck of a lot less crowded.

States are political subdivisions, put in place by human beings. For that reason, it’s appropriate that we be represented by man-made monuments. Georgia’s quarter has a peach, which reminds us of peaches but doesn’t necessarily motivate us to visit Georgia. South Carolina’s shows us the state tree — the palmetto - and the state bird.

Some of the other states have commemorated history. Delaware, for example, chose the historic 50-mile horseback ride of Continental Congress delegate Caesar Rodney, which is fascinating but doesn’t remind most of us of Delaware. New Jersey’s does, with its depiction of George Washington and soldiers in the Colonial Army crossing the Delaware River. How many people, when they stare at a handful of change, remember that he was crossing into Trenton, N.J.? Connecticut’s quarter depicts an oak tree where a Patriot hid the Connecticut Charter. Massachusetts chose the Minutemen.

Dufour probably doesn’t hold out much hope that Colorado’s quarter will depict Cliff Palace, but it’s not a bad idea. Other states have missed a golden opportunity to promote themselves at the expense of the United States Mint. Some people don’t read tourism ads in magazines or watch television commercials, but everyone spends quarters. They pull a handful of change out of a pocket and stare at it while they pick out the denominations they want. In addition, state quarters are a topic of conversation, not only among coin collectors and children but in the general population. Everybody looks for the newest one.

In addition to drawing visitors to our state, we have a chance to remind people that history didn’t begin with the American revolution, and that people lived here before the first Europeans set foot on the eastern seaboard.