The US Mint made waves Wednesday when it announced two new programs that will begin next year and last until 2021. The program names are on the long side, but certainly descriptive:
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United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program™
- United States Mint America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin™ Program
For the first program, the Mint will strike circulating quarter-dollars with reverse (tails side) designs emblematic of a national park or other national site in each state, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.
"Since our Nation's founding, our coins have celebrated American ideals such as liberty and justice, our rich history and heritage, and the great Presidents and other leaders who have guided us," Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said in a US Mint announcement.
"I am pleased that these new quarters will now celebrate America the Beautiful, the spectacular natural wonders that are found in our national parks, wildlife refuges and public lands."
The obverse (heads side) of each quarter will depict a restored version of the 1932 portrait of George Washington.
For the second program, the Mint will strike silver bullion coins that are "exact duplicates" of each quarter. These will be twice the size of Peace and Morgan Silver Dollars, with their incredible 3 inch diameter and 5 ounce weight.
The coins will be composed of .999 fine silver, like the American Silver Eagle. (As another comparison, the Silver Eagles have a diameter of 1.598 inches and include a single ounce of silver.) Additionally, the fineness and weight will be edge-incused.
In total, 56 circulating quarters and another 56 silver coins will be struck at a rate of five per year for the next eleven years.
A major part of the US Mint's announcement was actually listing the national parks and national sites to be honored on the coins, as well as when. The methodology of selecting the order was, at least on paper, quite simple. The coins are to be issued sequentially each year, in the order in which the featured site was first established as a national park or site.
The US Mint indicated that Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner approved the list of sites it had recommended on August 25, 2009, after consultation with the governor or chief executive of each host jurisdiction and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.
The following are the scheduled sites to be commemorated and when:
America the Beautiful Quarters and Silver Bullion Coins Release Schedule
2010
Arkansas, Hot Springs National Park, 1832
Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park, 1872
California, Yosemite National Park, 1890
Arizona, Grand Canyon National Park, 1893
Oregon, Mt. Hood National Forest, 1893
2011
Pennsylvania, Gettysburg National Military Park, 1895
Montana, Glacier National Park, 1897
Washington, Olympic National Park, 1897
Mississippi, Vicksburg National Military Park, 1899
Oklahoma, Chickasaw National Recreation Area, 1902
2012
Puerto Rico, El Yunque National Forest, 1903
New Mexico, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, 1907
Maine, Acadia National Park, 1916
Hawaii, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, 1916
Alaska, Denali National Park, 1917
2013
New Hampshire, White Mountain National Forest, 1918
Ohio, Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial, 1919
Nevada, Great Basin National Park, 1922
Maryland, Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, 1925
South Dakota, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, 1925
2014
Tennessee, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 1926
Virginia, Shenandoah National Park, 1926
Utah, Arches National Park, 1929
Colorado, Great Sand Dunes National Park, 1932
Florida, Everglades National Park, 1934
2015
Nebraska, Homestead National Monument of America, 1936
Louisiana, Kisatchie National Forest, 1936
North Carolina, Blue Ridge Parkway, 1936
Delaware, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, 1937
New York, Saratoga National Historical Park, 1938
2016
Illinois, Shawnee National Forest, 1939
Kentucky, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, 1940
West Virginia, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, 1944
North Dakota, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, 1946
South Carolina, Fort Moultrie (Fort Sumter National Monument), 1948
2017
Iowa, Effigy Mounds National Monument, 1949
District of Columbia, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, 1962
Missouri, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, 1964
New Jersey, Ellis Island National Monument (Statue of Liberty), 1965
Indiana, George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, 1966
2018
Michigan, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, 1966
Wisconsin, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, 1970
Minnesota, Voyageurs National Park, 1971
Georgia, Cumberland Island National Seashore, 1972
Rhode Island, Block Island National Wildlife Refuge, 1973
2019
Massachusetts, Lowell National Historical Park, 1978
Northern Mariana Islands, American Memorial Park, 1978
Guam, War in the Pacific National Historical Park, 1978
Texas, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, 1978
Idaho, Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, 1980
2020
American Samoa, National Park of American Samoa, 1988
Connecticut, Weir Farm National Historic Site, 1990
U.S. Virgin Islands, Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, 1992
Vermont, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, 1992
Kansas, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, 1996
2021
Alabama, Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, 1998
Interestingly, the US Mint has already added the quarters to its quarters subscription service, which enables customers to order products with the quarters today, and have them delivered when they are released. The following are currently listed for the quarter products:
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America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set Subscription
– similarly priced product is $14.95 per unit -
America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set Subscription
– similarly priced product is $29.95 per unit -
America the Beautiful Quarters Two-Roll Set Subscription
– Similar product price is $32.95 per unit -
America the Beautiful Quarters – 100-Coin Bag (P) Subscription
– Similar product price is $32.95 per unit -
America the Beautiful Quarters – 100-Coin Bag (D) Subscription
– Similar product price is $32.95 per unit -
America the Beautiful Quarters – 100-Coin Bags (P&D) Subscription
– Similar product price is $65.90 per unit -
America the Beautiful Quarters – 1,000-Coin Bag (P) Subscription
– Similar product price is $309.95 per unit -
America the Beautiful Quarters – 1,000-Coin Bag (D) Subscription
– Similar product price is $309.95 per unit -
America the Beautiful Quarters – 1,000-Coin Bags (P&D) Subscription
– Similar product price is $619.90 per unit
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