Details of the release ceremony for the Mount Hood National Forest Quarter has been announced by the United States Mint.

 

The festivities are scheduled to be held on Wednesday, November 17, 2010, at the World Forestry Center located at 4033 SW Canyon Road in Portland, Oregon, just a few miles away from the borders of the national forest itself. A start time of 10:30 AM (Pacific) is listed.

A coin exchange will also be offered following the ceremony, typical of other U.S. Mint releases. At the exchange, guests will be able to trade cash for rolls of the 2010 Mount Hood Quarters. Children 18 and under will receive a free new quarter dollar just for attending.

Those unable to attend will be able to view a live broadcast of the ceremony at http://www.americathebeautifulquarters.gov.

The ceremony will give the newest America the Beautiful Quarters® an official debut, despite having already been released into circulation two days earlier on November 15th. That same day 2010 Mount Hood quarters will also be available on the U.S. Mint’s website or via their toll-free number in both bags and rolls. The bags consist of 100 circulation quality strikes of the new coin from either the U.S. Mint’s facility in Denver or the U.S. Mint’s facility in Philadelphia, buyers choice. Each bag will sell for $35.95 a piece.

Two-Roll Sets of the coins will also be offered. Included in the set is one roll of 40 circulation quality quarters from the U.S. Mint’s facility in Philadelphia and one roll of 40 circulation quality quarters from the U.S. Mint’s facility in Denver. Each roll is wrapped in special Mint wrapping which will indicate its contents. The two-roll set will be priced at $32.95.

A standard shipping and handling charge of $4.95 will be added to each order. Orders may be placed on the website of www.usmint.gov or via the Mint’s toll-free number of 1-800-USA-MINT beginning at Noon (Eastern) on the 15th of November.

Those interested will also be able to attend a special coin forum held the night before the official release on November 16th in Cheatham Hall of the World Forestry Center. At the forum, United States Mint Deputy Director Andy Brunhart will discuss with collectors and others the future of American coinage.

The Mount Hood National Forest Quarter marks the fifth and final 2010 release of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program. Previous national park quarter releases included:

• the Hot Springs National Park Quarter,
• the Yellowstone National Park Quarter,
• the Yosemite National Park Quarter and
• the Grand Canyon National Park Quarter.

Each coin in the program honors a different site of national interest. One site was chosen from each state, the District of Columbia and the five US Territories for a total of fifty-six new coins scheduled to be released between 2010 and 2021 at a rate of five per year.