US Virgin Islands Coin Ring

The U.S. Virgin Islands quarter is the fifth in the 2009 District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program. These islands, located in the Caribbean Sea east of Puerto Rico, were explored by Christopher Columbus in 1493. They were first inhabited by the Arawak, Taino and later the Carib Indians, and colonized by Denmark beginning in 1666. Originally named the Danish West Indies, the United States purchased the three islands—St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John—along with approximately 50 islets, from Denmark in 1917 for $25 million. Congress granted American citizenship to residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1927. These rings are hand made so they may slightly vary in shade darkness from the images.