Hot Springs National Park Quarter Release Ceremony
The United States Mint today said the Hot Springs National Park Quarter will get an official launch ceremony on Tuesday, April 20, at 10 a.m. Central Time.
The quarter is the first of five for 2010, and the inaugural coin in the U.S. Mint America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program — a series that over 11 years will celebrate 48 National Parks, two U.S. Fish and Wildlife sites, and six U.S. Forest Service sites.
The Arkansas Hot Springs National Park quarter features a reverse design, by Don Everhart, depicting the park’s headquarters building in the background and its historic fountain in the foreground. The National Park Service (NPS) emblem is featured to the right of the headquarter’s door. The design was sculpted by Joseph Menna. Read more
2010 National Park Quarters Designs
The U.S. Mint has formally revealed the final designs for this year’s four 2010 National Park Quarters and the first National Forest Quarter.
In a start to the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters® Program, which honors 56 different sites on the reverse of the quarter-dollars between 2010-2021, the five new designs were unveiled at a short ceremony at the Newseum Museum in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2010. Read more
Hot Springs National Park Quarter Rolls Launch April 19, 2010
Hot Springs National Park Quarter rolls and and bags will be released on April 19, 2010, the United States Mint said on Monday.
Although not officially announced, the new coins will also likely be released into circulation on the same day.
Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas is the first to be celebrated in a new 11-year quarter-dollar series, named the America the Beautiful Quarters Program. The program honors National Parks and other National Sites in the US and its Territories at a rate of five per year. Read more
2011 National Park Quarter Designs: CCAC to Review Candidates
Candidate designs for next year’s 2011 National Park quarters are about to get looked at by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, the United States Mint said in a press statement that invited the public and media to attend a design meeting on Jan. 26, 2010.
The CCAC is tasked with reviewing all US coin designs and themes, and then forwarding their recommendations to the US Mint Director and Secretary of the Treasury, who will make the final selections for all the commemoratives in the America the Beautiful Program, which honors national parks and other national sites through to 2021.
The 2011 quarters will feature Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, Glacier National Park in Montana, Olympic National Park in Washington, Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi, and Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Oklahoma. Read more
2010 National Park Quarter Candidate Designs
2010 is the inaugural year for America the Beautiful Quarters Program which will feature 56 rotating reverse designs for the next eleven years. These designs are to honor national parks and other national sites in each state, DC and US Territories.
The United States Mint’s process for creating the new quarter-dollars includes the production of several candidate designs featuring themes for the selected national park or site. These are then submitted to the Secretary of the Interior, the chief executive of the host jurisdiction (State/District of Columbia/Territory), the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) for review and comment.
The candidates for the 2010 National Park Quarter Designs have already passed this step, and are at the next phase where the U.S. Mint Director makes the final recommendations to the Secretary of Treasury, who is tasked by the America’s Beautiful National Park Quarters Dollar Coin Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-456) to make the final design selections.
The following includes the park and site quarter candidate designs, in line art form, along with the recommendations made by the CFA and CCAC. Read more
2010 National Park Quarter Products
With the New Year upon us, it is time to start thinking of 2010 issues coming from the United States Mint. One of the most highly anticipated among collectors is the debut of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, featuring commemorative quarter-dollars honoring national parks and other national sites.
Containing five new designs annually for the length of the 11-year series, the US Mint will be issuing many related products as a result of the program throughout the course of each year. Those familiar with the 50-State Quarter Program and its follow-up DC and Territories Program will recognize most of the options.
According to the Mint, the five new quarters to be issued in 2010 have the following anticipated release months: Read more
America the Beautiful Quarters Program
The United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program was officially announced on September 9, 2009. This new program encompasses a total of 56 new quarter designs that will run from 2010 through 2021.
At a rate of 5 per year, a new America the Beautiful Quarters will be issued featuring a reverse design emblematic of a National Park or National Site from each state as well as Washington D.C. and the U.S. territories. After consulting with the executive in charge of each locality and with the Secretary of the Interior, the US Mint submitted a list of recommended sites to Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner who approved it on August 25, 2009.
A detailed listing of America the Beautiful Quarters by year, name and state or territory is shown further below. For specific information on each release, click the date or location links found here:
Quarter Program Information by Date and Site
| 2010 | 2016 | AK | CT | IA | MA | MS | NM | PR | VA |
| 2011 | 2017 | AL | DC | ID | MD | MT | NV | RI | VI |
| 2012 | 2018 | AR | DE | IL | ME | NC | NY | SC | VT |
| 2013 | 2019 | AS | FL | IN | MI | ND | OH | SD | WA |
| 2014 | 2020 | AZ | GA | KS | MN | NE | OK | TN | WI |
| 2015 | 2021 | CA | GU | KY | MO | NH | OR | TX | WV |
| CO | HI | LA | MP | NJ | PA | UT | WY |
The order of issue for each coin was determined by the date the site officially came under the control of the United States government.
As such, Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas was the first coin in the new series. The national site was created as a reservation area in 1832 and renamed a National Park in 1922.
“These new quarters will honor some of our most revered, treasured and beautiful national sites — majestic and historic places located throughout the United States and its territories that truly make us ‘America the Beautiful,’” said United States Mint Director Ed Moy.
The obverse (heads side) of the America the Beautiful Quarters feature a portrait of George Washington based on the historic image that first appeared on the quarter in 1932. The United States Mint states that “subtle details and the beauty of the original model” will be seen in the William Cousins version that will be used (included design image shown above.) Cousins is no stranger to coin design, as his work has been seen on quarters since the 1999 launch of the 50 State Quarters® Program.
In addition to the quarter-dollar coins, the America’s Beautiful National Park Quarters Dollar Coin Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-156) that authorized them also calls for massive America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins to be released that are “exact duplicates of the quarter dollars.” These bullion strikes are 3 inches in diameter and weigh 5 ounces. According to the law, each silver bullion coin will not be available until the quarter with the same design is issued.
Following is a complete list of the chosen sites to be featured in the America’s Beautiful National Park Quarters Program. Each entry shows the state, territory or district in which the site is located along with the year it came under federal control.
National Park & Site Quarter Release Schedule
2010
- Arkansas, Hot Springs National Park Quarter, 1832
- Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park Quarter, 1872
- California, Yosemite National Park Quarter, 1890
- Arizona, Grand Canyon National Park Quarter, 1893
- Oregon, Mt. Hood National Forest Site Quarter, 1893
2011
- Pennsylvania, Gettysburg National Military Park, 1895
- Montana, Glacier National Park Quarter, 1897
- Washington, Olympic National Park Quarter, 1897
- Mississippi, Vicksburg National Military Park Quarter, 1899
- Oklahoma, Chickasaw National Recreation Area Site Quarter, 1902
2012
- Puerto Rico, El Yunque National Forest Site Quarter, 1903
- New Mexico, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, 1907
- Maine, Acadia National Park Quarter, 1916
- Hawaii, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Quarter, 1916
- Alaska, Denali National Park Quarter, 1917
2013
- New Hampshire, White Mountain National Forest Site Quarter, 1918
- Ohio, Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial Site Quarter, 1919
- Nevada, Great Basin National Park Quarter, 1922
- Maryland, Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine Site Quarter, 1925
- South Dakota, Mount Rushmore National Memorial Site Quarter, 1925
2014
- Tennessee, Great Smoky Mountains National Park Quarter, 1926
- Virginia, Shenandoah National Park Quarter, 1926
- Utah, Arches National Park Quarter, 1929
- Colorado, Great Sand Dunes National Park Quarter, 1932
- Florida, Everglades National Park Quarter, 1934
2015
- Nebraska, Homestead National Monument of America Site Quarter, 1936
- Louisiana, Kisatchie National Forest Site Quarter, 1936
- North Carolina, Blue Ridge Parkway Site Quarter, 1936
- Delaware, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge Site Quarter, 1937
- New York, Saratoga National Historical Park Quarter, 1938
2016
- Illinois, Shawnee National Forest Site Quarter, 1939
- Kentucky, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Quarter, 1940
- West Virginia, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Quarter, 1944
- North Dakota, Theodore Roosevelt National Park Quarter, 1946
- South Carolina, Fort Moultrie (Fort Sumter National Monument) Site Quarter, 1948
2017
- Iowa, Effigy Mounds National Monument Site Quarter, 1949
- District of Columbia, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Quarter, 1962
- Missouri, Ozark National Scenic Riverways Site Quarter, 1964
- New Jersey, Ellis Island National Monument (Statue of Liberty) Site Quarter, 1965
- Indiana, George Rogers Clark National Historical Park Quarter, 1966
2018
- Michigan, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Site Quarter, 1966
- Wisconsin, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Site Quarter, 1970
- Minnesota, Voyageurs National Park Quarter, 1971
- Georgia, Cumberland Island National Seashore Site Quarter, 1972
- Rhode Island, Block Island National Wildlife Refuge Site Quarter, 1973
2019
- Massachusetts, Lowell National Historical Park Quarter, 1978
- Northern Mariana Islands, American Memorial Park Quarter, 1978
- Guam, War in the Pacific National Historical Park Quarter, 1978
- Texas, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Quarter, 1978
- Idaho, Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Site Quarter, 1980
2020
- American Samoa, National Park of American Samoa Quarter, 1988
- Connecticut, Weir Farm National Historic Site Quarter, 1990
- U.S. Virgin Islands, Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve Quarter, 1992
- Vermont, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Quarter, 1992
- Kansas, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Site Quarter, 1996
2021
- Alabama, Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site Quarter, 1998
For more, also see sister site America the Beautiful Quarters.
Roosevelt to replace Washington on Quarters?
Consider replacing George Washington’s portrait on U.S. quarters with an image of Theodore Roosevelt, members of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) unanimously recommended in their Jan. 27 meeting, according to Numismatic News.
Information about the National Park Quarters has been minimal, as should be expected for much of 2009 given the United States Mint will not begin issuing the quarters until 2010.
However, the first five quarter designs will be completed this year in preparation for their release next year. And the CCAC, which advises the Secretary of the Treasury on designs for coinage, has already made their first recommendation for the series. Read more
New 11-year quarter-dollar coin series approved
President Bush today signed into law legislation authorizing a new multi-year coin series of National Park Quarters and super-sized five ounce silver coins beginning in 2010.
With the conclusion of the highly successful 50 State Quarters® Program this year and the six-quarter DC and US Territories program beginning and ending in 2009, the quarter-dollar was set to revert to a static design in 2010.
No longer. The year will now mark the launch of a new series of coins to "provide for a program for circulating quarter dollar coins that are emblematic of a national park or other national site in each State, the District of Columbia, and each territory of the United States." A list of parks shows the potential for a very broad scope of designs.
The America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act (H.R.6184) passed in the House of Representatives July 9, 2008 and unpredictably gained approval in the lame duck session of the Senate on December 10, 2008. Read more