WASHINGTON — Mount Hood’s last major eruption was in 1790, 15 years before Lewis and Clark’s expedition to the Pacific Northwest. But on Wednesday, November 17, the public is invited to witness an eruption of a different kind, as thousands of new quarter–dollar coins struck in honor of Mount Hood National Forest are released during a ceremony in nearby Portland, Oregon. The ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time (PT) at the World Forestry Center located at 4033 SW Canyon Road in Portland.
The ceremony will include a coin exchange at which members of the public may swap their currency for $10 rolls of Mount Hood National Forest quarters at face value. Children 18 years old and younger will receive a free quarter to commemorate the event. Those unable to attend will be able to view a live broadcast of the ceremony at http://www.americathebeautifulquarters.gov.
The United States Mint will host a coin forum on the evening prior to the launch ceremony. It will be held Tuesday, November 16, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. PT at Cheatham Hall, World Forestry Center. This public forum will give collectors and others an opportunity to meet with United States Mint Deputy Director Andy Brunhart and discuss the future of the Nation’s coinage.
The America the Beautiful Quarters® Program is authorized by Public Law 110–456. The program is a 12–year initiative to honor 56 national parks and other national sites in each state, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories. Starting this year, the public began seeing five different quarter–dollar coin designs, each featuring a new national site depicted on the coin’s reverse (tails side). The United States Mint is issuing the quarters in the order in which the honored site was first established as a national site.
Free lesson plans based on the America the Beautiful Quarters Program are available on the United States Mint’s Web site. Created and reviewed by teachers to meet national curricular standards, the plans draw on the new quarter reverse designs to inspire students to learn about the culture, geography and unique heritage and natural beauty of our national parks and other national sites. For more information about America the Beautiful Quarters Program educational resources, visit http://www.usmint.gov/kids/teachers/.
A digital image of the Mount Hood National Forest Quarter is available.
Additional information about the America the Beautiful Quarters Program can be found at: http://www.americathebeautifulquarters.gov
Information about Mount Hood National Forest can be found at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mthood/