CHARLESTON, W.VA. - Snowcapped mountains, the grand span of the New River Gorge Bridge and the dark, shadowy figure of Mothman are among hundreds of ideas submitted for West Virginia’s state quarter.



Other proposed designs feature the state symbols – black bear, cardinal and rhododendron – as well coal mining and the Capitol’s golden dome.



About 1,800 designs have been submitted to the governor’s office for the quarter, which will be released in 2005.



One depicts a West Virginia legend, Mothman – the 7-foot, manlike, winged figure with red eyes reportedly sighted several times in the Point Pleasant area in 1966 and 1967.



"I thought it was pretty neat that somebody recalled the myth and thinks that that’s a strong enough piece of West Virginia heritage," said Susan Small-Plante, who is in charge of the project. "Part of it is you want your quarter to be really different from everybody else’s."



Twelve recent high school graduates at the Governor’s Youth Arts Academy will choose five finalists, which will be submitted to the U.S. Mint.