CHEYENNE -n Wyoming's bucking horse and rider logo n- and not some cheap imitation -n remains the favorite design choice of many interested in what Wyoming should put on the back of its state quarter.

Although the logo is trademarked by the state, state officials are working to make sure that the federal government has the legal clearance to put it on a coin in circulation.

Jack Rosenthal, who heads the governor's state coin committee, said the U.S. Mint suggested possibly using some variation of the logo as a way to get past legal issues associated with using the state-held trademark.

That idea didn't appeal to Rosenthal.

"I think the people in the state have spoken, and we want to give them what they want, which is our familiar symbol," he said.

The secretary of state's office is charged with protecting the logo against trademark infringement.

Barbara Boyer, an attorney and project administrator in that office, said she and other officials would be delighted if the coin eventually does depict the bucking horse and rider logo once it hits circulation in summer 2007.

"It's seen as a symbol of Wyoming. It's a very visible symbol of Wyoming, and a lot of people have expressed interest in having the bucking horse and rider on the coin," Boyer said.

Of the design ideas people submitted to the committee, the bucking horse and rider was nominated by a 10-to-1 margin over the second most popular idea, Devils Tower.

After the committee met in May to come up with three to five final proposals for what should be on the quarter, Rosenthal was charged with the task of putting the ideas into writing.

Here are the official descriptions Rosenthal submitted to the U.S. Mint, which will use the narratives to develop art that will show what the coin could look like:

1. Bucking horse and rider silhouette style: We propose the use of the familiar bucking horse and rider as a raised silhouette, facing right, placed very slightly left of center. The size of the image should be optimized so as to be as large as is practicable. In the upper-right quadrant, above the horse's mane, the phrase, "The Equality State," the three words one above the other, referencing the fact that Wyoming was the first state to grant women the right to vote and the first state to have a woman as governor.

2. Bucking horse and rider with relief: This request incorporates all of the same design elements and placement as request No. 1, including the typography. However, in this treatment, we would like to have the features of the horse and rider shown, along with saddle, reins, etc.

3. Bucking horse and rider with Teton Range: This version would use the No. 2 design with the additional element of the distinctive skyline of the Teton Mountains in the background. The committee envisions a thin, unobtrusive outline of the peaks. We would like to propose that the mountain portion of the design be incused, if practicable.

4. Bucking horse and rider in typical Wyoming scene: The committee wishes to defer to the creativity of the Mint's artists in placing the bucking horse and rider in what they perceive to be a typical Wyoming scene. How we see ourselves might be tempered by how we are seen by others. Please incorporate the phrase, "The Equality State."

5. Yellowstone National Park Old Faithful Geyser: We propose the depiction of a classic eruption of Old Faithful geyser as portrayed on the 5-cent U.S. Postage stamp of the National Parks issue of 1934. … We defer to your artists as to the typography. We would like the phrase, "The Equality State," to be included.

Capital bureau reporter Bill Luckett can be reached at (307) 632-1244 or at bill.luckett@casperstartribune.net.