The National Park Quarters will be in their second year with the release of the 2011-dated strikes of the series. Authorized by the America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-456), this series is scheduled to run for eleven years with 2010 serving as the debut year and 2021 offering the last coin in the program.

Five strikes will be issued annually in the series. Those scheduled for 2011 include the Gettysburg National Military Park Quarter, the Glacier National Park Quarter, the Olympic National Park Quarter, the Vicksburg National Military Park Quarter and the Chickasaw National Recreation Area Quarter. These five strikes number six through eleven in the series with the first five issued in 2010.

Shown on the obverse of each strike will be the same design including a portrait of the first President of the United States, George Washington. This portrait was first used on the 1932 circulating quarter dollar and has appeared on the quarter in one form or another ever since. It was designed by John Flanagan.

The reverse of each of the 2011 National Park Quarters will include designs emblematic of the selected sites of national interest. These sites are just five of the fifty-six chosen to be included in the program. The United States Mint has set a schedule for the release of the coins based on the order in which the selected sites came under the direct control of the federal government.

The five 2011 coins will be issued in intervals throughout the year with the Federal Reserve Banks releasing them into circulation. The United States Mint will also hold an official launch ceremony for each strike on a date close to the date in which they enter circulation. Typically, these ceremonies are held at the site which is currently being honored on the quarter.

More information on each of the 2011 National Park Quarters released by the US Mint is offered below:

Gettysburg National Military Park Quarter – The Gettysburg National Military Park Quarter shows a circulation release date of January 24, 2011. The United States Mint official launch ceremony was scheduled for the following day on January 25, 2011 to be held at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Shown on the reverse of this quarter is an image of the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument which is one of the many monuments located within the boundaries of the military park. The reverse was designed by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) Master Designer Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill.

Glacier National Park Quarter – The Glacier National Park Quarter will be released into circulation on April 4, 2011 and honors the national park located in the state of Montana. Glacier was created as a national park on May 11, 1910.

The reverse of the Glacier Quarter shows a creature and a feature which the national park is well-known for. The creature is a mountain goat depicted climbing over the rugged terrain of the park. The feature is the northeast slope of Mount Reynolds shown off in the distance. This reverse was designed by AIP Associate Designer Barbara Fox and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Charles Vickers.

Olympic National Park Quarter – The Olympic National Park Quarter should enter into circulation on June 13, 2011. This strike honors the site located on the Olympic Peninsula of the state of Washington that became a national park on June 29, 1938.

Once again combining an animal with the landscape, the reverse of the Olympic Quarter shows a Roosevelt Elk standing on a gravel bar of the Hoh River with Mount Olympus looming in the background. It was designed by AIP Master Designer Susan Gamble and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Michael Gaudioso.

Vicksburg National Military Park Quarter – The Vicksburg National Military Park Quarter honors the military park located in the state of Mississippi. This quarter should be released into circulation on August 29, 2011. The park itself was created by the War Department on February 21, 1899 but was moved to the control of the National Park Service in 1933.

Depicted on the reverse of the Vicksburg Quarter is the Civil War era gunboat USS Cairo as it would have appeared steaming on the Yazoo River before it was sunk during the war. The reverse was designed by AIP Master Designer Thomas Cleveland and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna.

Chickasaw National Recreation Area Quarter – The Chickasaw National Recreation Area Quarter honors the site in Oklahoma that first came under the direct control of the federal government on July 1, 1902 as the Sulphur Springs Reservation. It was renamed and redesignated in 1976 to its current status. The coins will be released into circulation on November 14, 2011.

The reverse of the Chickasaw Quarter shows an image of the Lincoln Bridge which is found within the boundaries of the recreation area and is a favorite scenic spot for visitors. This reverse was designed by AIP Master Designer Donna Weaver and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Jim Licaretz.