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.
The obverse (heads side) of the quarter remains the same with its depiction of George Washington — based on John Flanagan’s 1932 portrait.
Ceremony, coin exchange, quarter rolls and bags
NPS officials will join U.S. Mint Director Ed Moy at the quarter release ceremony to honor Hot Springs National Park on its 178th anniversary. The event will last less than an hour and will be held at the front of Administration Building.
A coin exchange will immediately follow for anyone interested in swapping cash for $10 rolls of the new quarters with a $100 limit in place.
For those who can not attend the ceremony and do not want to wait for the coins to appear at local banks and in daily change, there is also the opportunity to buy quarter rolls and bags directly from the Mint beginning on the day prior to the ceremony, April 19, at noon Eastern Time.
Mint wrapped two-roll sets are available for a price of $32.95. One roll includes 40 coins with the Philadelphia “P” mint mark and the other roll includes 40 coins with the Denver “D” mint mark.
100-coin bags will also be for sale, listed at $35.95 for quarters struck from either Philadelphia or Denver.
Order may be placed Mint’s Web site at http://www.usmint.gov/catalog, or at the toll-free number, 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).
Coin forum
Finally, the Mint also announced that there will be a coin forum on the evening prior (the 19th) to the ceremonial release. The forum, hosted by Director Moy, offers the opportunity for coin collectors and enthusiasts to ask any coinage questions and learn about other new coins set for release in America.
The forum will begin at 5 p.m. Central Time and will be held at the:
Quapaw Bath House
413 Bathhouse Row
Hot Springs, Arkansas, 71901
Hot Springs was first established as a federally controlled location on April 20, 1832, making it the oldest national site and earning it the right as the first to be celebrated in the new quarter series. It is actually the 18th national park, in terms of order. That happened on March 4, 1921, which was the same time it was renamed from Hot Springs Reservation to Hot Springs National Park.
It was only in late March when the Mint first revealed the final five 2010 park quarter designs.
The next four 2010 quarter-dollars will feature reverse design honoring Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Yosemite National Park in California, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, and Mount Hood National Forest Site in Oregon.
when will the public in local areas such as logan utah be able to get the hotsprings quarter. how many of the quarters were minted? hopefully enough to meet the daily demands of every day consumer.
Demand will dictate the speed and distribution. It really comes down to how many coins local banks order through the Federal Reserve banking system. As such, some areas of the country will see the new quarters sooner than others, and in larger quantities.
One option is buying bags and rolls of the coins directly from the U.S. Mint. It does charge a premium, however.
The U.S. Mint did not produce any quarters in January or February. In March, it struck a total of 42.4 million quarters for circulation — 19 million from Denver and 23.4 million from Philadelphia. It hasn’t yet broken out mintages by quarter design, so it’s likely that these first numbers are only a portion of the Hot Springs National Park Quarter strikes.
What banks are rolling the parks quarters? I am having trouble in Houston, TX finding them?