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America the Beautiful Quarters® Program

About the Program

From 2010 through 2021, the U.S. Mint issued 56 quarters as part of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program. The reverse designs depicted a national park or other national site for each U.S. state, territory, and the District of Columbia.

America the Beautiful Quarters

2010

Jurisdiction Site Legal Authority Date Federal Entity Release Date
Arkansas Hot Springs National Park 4 Stat. 505

4/20/1832

NPS

4/19/2010
Wyoming Yellowstone National Park 17 Stat. 32

3/1/1872

NPS

6/1/2010
California Yosemite National Park 26 Stat. 650

10/1/1890

NPS

7/26/2010
Arizona Grand Canyon National Park 27 Stat. 469

2/20/1893

NPS

9/20/2010
Oregon Mt. Hood National Forest 28 Stat. 1240

9/28/1893

USFS

11/15/2010

2011

Jurisdiction Site Legal Authority Date Federal Entity Release Date
Pennsylvania Gettysburg National Military Park 28 Stat. 651

2/11/1895

NPS

1/24/2011

Montana Glacier National Park 29 Stat. 907

2/22/1897

NPS

4/4/2011

Washington Olympic National Park 29 Stat. 901

2/22/1897

NPS

6/13/2011

Mississippi Vicksburg National Military Park 30 Stat. 841

2/21/1899

NPS

8/29/2011

Oklahoma Chickasaw National Recreation Area 32 Stat. 641

7/1/1902

NPS

11/14/2011

2012

Jurisdiction Site Legal Authority Date Federal Entity Release Date
Puerto Rico El Yunque National Forest 32 Stat. 2029

1/17/1903

USFS

1/23/2012

New Mexico Chaco Culture National Historical Park 35 Stat. 2119

3/11/1907

NPS

4/2/2012

Maine Acadia National Park 39 Stat. 1785

7/8/1916

NPS

6/11/2012

Hawaii Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park 39 Stat. 432

8/1/1916

NPS

8/27/2012

Alaska Denali National Park and Preserve 39 Stat. 938

2/26/1917

NPS

11/5/2012

2013

Jurisdiction Site Legal Authority Date Federal Entity Release Date
New Hampshire White Mountain National Forest 40 Stat. 1779

5/16/1918

USFS

1/28/2013

Ohio Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial 40 Stat. 1322

3/3/1919

NPS

4/1/2013

Nevada Great Basin National Park 42 Stat. 2260

1/24/1922

NPS

6/10/2013

Maryland Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine 43 Stat. 1109

3/3/1925

NPS

8/26/2013

South Dakota Mount Rushmore National Memorial 43 Stat.1214

3/3/1925

NPS

11/4/2013

2014

Jurisdiction Site Legal Authority Date Federal Entity Release Date
Tennessee Great Smoky Mountains National Park 44 Stat. 616

5/22/1926

NPS

1/27/2014

Virginia Shenandoah National Park 44 Stat. 616

5/22/1926

NPS

3/31/2014

Utah Arches National Park 46 Stat. 2988

4/12/1929

NPS

6/9/2014

Colorado Great Sand Dunes National Park 47 Stat. 2506

3/17/1932

NPS

8/25/2014

Florida Everglades National Park 48 Stat. 816

5/30/1934

NPS

11/3/2014

2015

Jurisdiction Site Legal Authority Date Federal Entity Release Date
Nebraska Homestead National Monument of America 49 Stat. 1184

3/19/1936

NPS

2/9/2015

Louisiana Kisatchie National Forest 49 Stat. 3520

6/3/1936

USFS

4/13/2015

North Carolina Blue Ridge Parkway 49 Stat. 2041

6/30/1936

NPS

6/22/2015

Delaware Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge 45 Stat. 1222

6/22/1937

US F&W

9/14/2015

New York Saratoga National Historical Park 52 Stat. 608

6/1/1938

NPS

11/16/2015

2016

Jurisdiction Site Legal Authority Date Federal Entity Release Date
Illinois Shawnee National Forest 54 Stat. 2649

9/6/1939

USFS

2/1/2016

Kentucky Cumberland Gap National Historical Park 54 Stat. 262

6/11/1940

NPS

4/4/2016

West Virginia Harpers Ferry National Historical Park 58 Stat. 645

6/30/1944

NPS

6/6/2016

North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt National Park 56 Stat. 326

2/25/1946

NPS

8/29/2016

South Carolina Fort Moultrie (Fort Sumter National Monument) 62 Stat. 204

4/28/1948

NPS

11/14/2016

2017

Jurisdiction Site Legal Authority Date Federal Entity Release Date
Iowa Effigy Mounds National Monument 64 Stat. A371

10/25/1949

NPS

2/6/2017
District of Columbia Frederick Douglass National Historic Site 76 Stat. 435

9/5/1962

NPS

4/3/2017
Missouri Ozark National Scenic Riverways 78 Stat. 608

8/27/1964

NPS

6/5/2017
New Jersey Ellis Island 79 Stat. 1490

5/11/1965

NPS

8/28/2017
Indiana George Rogers Clark National Historical Park 80 Stat. 325

7/23/1966

NPS

11/13/2017

2018

Jurisdiction Site Legal Authority Date Federal Entity Release Date
Michigan Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore 80 Stat. 922

10/15/1966

NPS

2/5/2018
Wisconsin Apostle Islands National Lakeshore 84 Stat. 880

9/26/1970

NPS

4/9/2018
Minnesota Voyageurs National Park 84 Stat. 1970

1/8/1971

NPS

6/11/2018
Georgia Cumberland Island National Seashore 86 Stat. 1066

10/23/1972

NPS

8/27/2018
Rhode Island Block Island National Wildlife Refuge 62 Stat. 240

4/12/1973

US F&W

11/13/2018

2019

Jurisdiction Site Legal Authority Date Federal Entity Release Date
Massachusetts Lowell National Historical Park 92 Stat. 291

6/5/1978

NPS

2/4/2019
Northern Mariana Islands American Memorial Park 92 Stat. 487

8/18/1978

NPS

4/1/2019
Guam War in the Pacific National Historical Park 92 Stat. 487

8/18/1978

NPS

6/3/2019
Texas San Antonio Missions National Historical Park 92 Stat. 3636

11/10/1978

NPS

8/26/2019
Idaho Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness 94 Stat. 948

7/23/1980

USFS

11/4/2019

2020

Jurisdiction Site Legal Authority Date Federal Entity Release Date
American Samoa National Park of American Samoa 102 Stat. 2879

10/31/1988

NPS

 2/3/2020
Connecticut Weir Farm National Historic Site 104 Stat. 1171

10/31/1990

NPS

 4/6/2020
U.S. Virgin Islands Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve 106 Stat. 33

2/24/1992

NPS

 6/1/2020
Vermont Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park 106 Stat. 934

8/26/1992

NPS

 8/31/2020
Kansas Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve 110 Stat. 4204

11/12/1996

NPS

 11/16/2020

2021

Jurisdiction Site Legal Authority Date Federal Entity Release Date
Alabama Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site 112 Stat. 3247

11/6/1998

NPS

 2/1/2021

Site and Design Selection Process

Former Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner selected the list of sites to be honored after consulting with the governor or other chief executive of each host jurisdiction and former Secretary of the Interior Kenneth Salazar, in accordance with America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008.

Site Selection & Design Criteria

Overview
The America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Series Act of 2008 provides for designs to be submitted in accordance with the design selection and approval process developed by, and in sole discretion of, the Secretary of the Treasury.

In General
The designs on the coins issued during this program shall be emblematic of one national site in each host jurisdiction (State/District of Columbia/Territory). The program will honor the national park or other national site in each host jurisdiction deemed most appropriate in terms of natural or historic significance.

Standards

  • Selected sites must be ones that can reasonably be expected to translate into dignified designs of which the citizens of the United States can be proud (for example, must be distinctive and readily recognizable as honoring that site).
  • Selected sites must be ones that can reasonably be expected to translate into designs that are neither frivolous nor inappropriate. Inappropriate designs include, but are not limited to, those bearing logos or depictions of specific commercial, private, educational, civic, religious, sports, or other organizations whose membership or ownership is not universal.
  • Designs must not include any head-and-shoulders portrait or bust of any person, living or dead, nor can designs include a portrait of a living person. Designs must not include an outline or map of a host jurisdiction.
  • Designs can be based on the same theme as used in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters Program, or the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program, but cannot be the same design.

Order & Rate
The national site quarter-dollars will be issued at a rate of five new designs each year in the order in which the selected sites were first established as a national site.

Site Selection Process

Step 1
The United States Mint will initiate the site selection process by contacting the chief executive of each host jurisdiction (State/District of Columbia/Territory) through a formal letter of request to identify one preferred and three ranked alternative national sites in his or her jurisdiction. The United States Mint will provide resources and access to lists of applicable national sites to each chief executive. National sites for consideration include any site under the supervision, management, or conservancy of the National Park Service, the United States Forest Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or any similar department or agency of the Federal government.

Step 2
With due consideration to the requirement that the national site chosen for each host jurisdiction shall be the most appropriate in terms of natural and historic significance, and after giving full and thoughtful consideration to national sites that are not under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, the chief executive will provide the United States Mint his or her recommendation for the national site to be honored on the respective quarter, as well as three recommended alternative national sites in order of preference.

Step 3
The United States Mint will review all the recommendations and will establish a candidate list of the 56 national sites.

Step 4
The United States Mint will consult with the Secretary of the Interior to ensure appropriateness of each of the 56 national site recommendations based on their natural or historic significance, and to validate the date on which each recommended site was established as a national site.

Step 5
Having consulted with each chief executive and the Secretary of the Interior, and having giving full and thoughtful consideration to national sites that are not under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, the United States Mint will reconcile all comments and recommend a final candidate list determined to be the most appropriate in terms of natural and historic significance to the Secretary of the Treasury, who will approve the final national site list. The approved list will also establish the order in which each quarter-dollar is released. Quarter-dollars will be released at a rate of five per year beginning in 2010.

Silver Bullion Quarters

The America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008 —Public Law 110-456— authorized the production of five ounce, .999 fine silver bullion coins replicating each of the designs featured on the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters. The bullion coins are three inches in diameter and have a nominal face value of 25 cents. These are the first five ounce, three inch, .999 fine silver bullion coins ever produced by the United States Mint. The fineness and weight are edge-incused on the coins.

These unique silver bullion coins feature reverse designs depicting national parks and other national sites in each state, District of Columbia and five U.S. territories — Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands and Northern Mariana Islands. The coins were issued in the order in which the featured site was first established as a national park or site.

America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins are investment-grade silver bullion coins. Their weight, content and purity are guaranteed by the U.S. government.

The coins, with their unique U.S. government backing, may be sold for cash at many coin and precious metals dealers. They are also legal tender. Their quarter-dollar face value is symbolic, because silver’s market price has historically been much higher.

America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins sold at prevailing silver market prices, plus a moderate premium to cover production and other costs. Silver is typically the lowest-priced precious metal, making these bullion coins an affordable choice for most investors.

America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins™ for Collectors

The collector (“numismatic”) version of the bullion coin was produced with an uncirculated finish. It has the “P” mint mark for the United States Mint at Philadelphia. The coin was encapsulated in plastic, accompanied by a presentation case and Certificate of Authenticity, and was produced in limited quantities.

Content last updated on October 02, 2024