WASHINGTON – The United States Mint joined the National Park Service (NPS) today to celebrate the release of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program coin honoring Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. The ceremony coincided with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the NPS on this day in 1916.
“This coin serves to memorialize the 26th President for his enduring contributions to the conservation of our nation’s resources, especially those found here in Theodore Roosevelt National Park,” said Rhett Jeppson, United States Mint Principal Deputy Director.
The ceremony, held at the park’s Painted Canyon Visitor Center, included remarks by U.S. Senator John Hoeven; U.S. Congressman Kevin Cramer; NPS Deputy Regional Director Patricia Trap; Shirley Meyer, Western Area Director for U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp; Theodore Roosevelt National Park Superintendent Wendy Ross; and historian Clay Jenkinson.
Additional event highlights included a coin forum hosted by the United States Mint on the evening before the ceremony and a coin exchange that followed the ceremony. Those who attended the event were among the first in the nation to purchase $10 rolls of newly minted Theodore Roosevelt National Park quarters.
Collectible bags and rolls of Theodore Roosevelt National Park quarters will be available for purchase directly from the Mint beginning on August 29, 2016. Orders will be accepted via the bureau’s online catalog at http://catalog.usmint.gov/coin-programs/america-the-beautiful-quarters-program/ or by telephone at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).
The NPS has held stewardship of America’s national parks since 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation creating the agency. It oversees more than 400 sites covering approximately 84 million acres in the United States and its territories. In addition to national parks, the NPS system includes monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, as well as the White House.
The United States Mint was created by Congress in 1792 and became part of the Department of the Treasury in 1873. It is the Nation’s sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage and is responsible for producing circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint also produces numismatic products, including proof, uncirculated, and commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; and silver, gold and platinum bullion coins. The Mint’s numismatic programs are self-sustaining and operate at no cost to taxpayers.
The Theodore Roosevelt National Park quarter is the 34th release in the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program, a 12-year initiative to honor 56 national parks and other national sites authorized by Public Law 110-456. Each year, the public will see five new national sites depicted on the reverses (tails sides) of the America the Beautiful Quarters. The Mint is issuing these quarters in the order in which the national sites were officially established.