The
Connecticut Charter Oak appears on the tails side of the Connecticut
state quarter.
On October 9, 1662, the General Court of Connecticut received the Charter won from King Charles II by Governor John Winthrop, Jr. In 1687, with the succession of James II, however, Connecticut found a less friendly monarch. Sir Edmund Andros, His Majesty's agent, arrived in Hartford with an army to seize the Charter. After hours of debate, with the Charter on the table between the opposing parties, the candle-lit room suddenly went dark. Moments later when the candles were re-lighted, the Charter was gone. Captain Joseph Wadsworth is credited with having removed and hidden the Charter in the majestic oak on the Wyllys estate.
The charter oak is a symbol of the love of freedom which inspired Connecticut's colonial forebears in their resistance to tyranny. Over fifty years old when it hid the Charter in 1687, the tree fell during a storm on August 21, 1856.
reference: Connecticut Secretary of State archives