Hot Springs National Park Quarter - Click to Enlarge
The US Mint has announced that it will join National Park Service officials in launching the 2010 Hot Springs National Park Quarter on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, at 10 a.m. Central Time.
The release will introduce the nation to the first of 56 coins in the America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program -- the latest series from the United States Mint which will honor sites in every state, the District of Columbia and each U.S. Territory through to 2021.
The ceremony will be located at the park itself, in front of the Administration Building. It is expected to last around an hour. Immediately following the event, children 18 and under will receive a new shiny quarter for free. Adults can exchange cash for $10 rolls of the coins at face value, with an expected limit of $100.
The quarter-dollars will actually release into circulation on the prior day, although as with any new coin its distribution will depend on circulating demand via quantities ordered by local banks. Demand has been drastically lower of late, as Americans have been pushing old coinage back into circulation, cutting the need for banks to order newer replacements. (To learn about how to purchase rolls and bags of the coins directly from the Mint, see the article: Hot Springs Quarter Dollar Rolls & Bags.)
The ceremonial release on the 20th is a special day for the National Park not only because of the quarter launch honoring it, but because it is the park's 178th anniversary.
Known as "the Valley of the Vapors" by Native Americans for centuries long before being discovered by European settlers, the Hot Springs area is thought to have been a peaceful location where tribes came together to enjoy the waters. It first came to the attention of others in 1541 when explorer Hernando DeSoto and his group ventured into the area.
The Hot Springs National Park Quarter reverse was designed by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart and sculpted by Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna.
The obverse or heads side of each quarter-dollar in the new program remains unchanged, depicting George Washington.
Following the Hot Springs 25-cent piece, four other quarter-dollars will be issued later in 2010 with designs depicting Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Yosemite National Park in California, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, and Mount Hood National Forest Site in Oregon.
Then, each year, the public will see five new national sites honored. The Mint will strike these quarters in the order in which the location was first established as a national site. As the Hot Springs area has the distinction of being the first land set aside by the national government as a 'reservation' for the continued public use in 1832, it is the first coin to be issued in the new series.
Additionally, later this summer the Mint will issue bullion America the Beautiful Silver Coins, which are duplicates of the quarters in all but size, composition and edge detail. The coins will be struck from .999 fine silver, weigh five ounces, and have a diameter of three inches. The fineness and weight will be edge-incused on the bullion coins. Circulating quarters have reeded edges.
Since these are bullion issue, the Mint will not sell them directly to the public -- unlike their numismatic offerings, but instead through their small network of authorized dealers. They will then resell them for a small amount over the current spot price of silver. The Mint is calling the series featuring the coins the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin™ Program.
U.S. Mint Public Coin Forum
Anyone in the Hot Spring area on the day prior to the release ceremony may be interested in attending a public coin forum hosted by U.S. Mint Director Ed Moy. The forum offers the opportunity to ask coin-related questions and learn about upcoming issues.
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.
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