Coin Update» America the Beautiful Quarters

2012 El Yunque National Forest Quarter Bags and Rolls Available

Coin Update — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:17:07 +0000

The United States Mint recently began accepting orders for numismatic bags and rolls containing El Yunque National Forest Quarters. This represents the eleventh release within the America the Beautiful Quarters Program.

El Yunque Nationl Forest is located in Puerto Rico and is the only tropical rainforest within the U.S. National Forest System. The reverse design of the coin features a Coqui tree frost sitting on a leaf and a Puerto Rican parrot behind an epiphyte plant with tropical flora in the background. Inscriptions around the outer edge read "El Yunque", "Puerto Rico", "2012", and "E Pluribus Unum".

The obverse design of the coin contains a portrait of George Washington designed by John Flanagan for the 1932 Washington Quarter. The inscriptions include "United States of America", "Liberty", "In God We Trust", and "Quarter Dollar".

The US mint offers bags and rolls of the El Yunque Quarters struck on the main production floors of the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. The packaging for each product indicates the name of the park, state abbreviation, year of issue, mint mark, and face value of the contents. The 100-coin bags are available from each mint and priced at $34.95. The two rolls sets contain one 40-coin roll from each mint and are priced at $32.95.

There is no stated maximum product limit or household ordering limit in place. The numismatic bags and rolls are expected to remain on sale for one year from the original release date. The products can be found online at http://catalog.usmint.gov

The El Yunque National Forest Quarters were entered circulation on January 23, 2012.

2011 America the Beautiful Quarters Mintages

Michael Zielinski — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:44:09 +0000

The America the Beautiful Quarters Program recently completed its second year of release, with five different designs representing National Parks or sites of America. The total mintage across the five designs rose compared to the previous year, although the increase was only attributable to a jump in production for the final design of the year.

The 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters featured Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, Glacier National Park in Montana, Olympic National Park in Washington, Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi, and Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Oklahoma.

The total mintage across the five different designs reached 391,200,000 compared to a mintage of 347,000,000 for the first five designs of the series issued in the previous year.

By individual design, the lowest overall mintage for the current year was reported at 61,000,000 for the Olympic National Park Quarter. The highest overall mintage was 143,200,000 for the Chickasaw National Recreation Area Quarter.

2011 America the Beautiful Quarters Mintages

	Denver	Philadelphia	Total
Gettysburg	30,400,000	30,800,000	61,200,000
Glacier	31,200,000	30,400,000	61,600,000
Olympic	30,600,000	30,400,000	61,000,000
Vicksburg	33,400,000	30,800,000	64,200,000
Chickasaw	69,400,000	73,800,000	143,200,000
Total			391,200,000

Mintage levels for the America the Beautiful Quarters still only represent a fraction of the number of coins issued for each design of the previous 50 State Quarters Program. In fact, production for the first ten designs of the ATB Quarters Program has still not reached the mintage level for the first design for the State Quarters Program. In 1999, the US Mint began the innovative program by producing 774,824,000 Delaware Quarters. Mintage levels rose in the following year, reaching a peak with the production 1,594,616,000 Virginia Quarters.

At the onset of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, the US Mint attributed the lower production levels to decreased orders for new coinage placed by the Federal Reserve Banks. A large surplus of quarters had built up at the Federal Reserve Banks due to residual or redeposited coins from the State Quarters Program. Compounding the problem, the economic conditions of 2008 and 2009 caused a large number of previously issued quarters to return to active circulation, significantly reducing the need for additional payments to circulation by Reserve Banks. As a result of this situation, the Reserve Banks curtailed orders for new coinage and attempted to work down the existing surplus.

At the end of 2009, Federal Reserve Banks held about 3.8 billion quarters in inventory. This amount was reduced by 500 million as of May 31, 2010, according to testimony delivered by the Director of the Division of Reserve Bank Operations and Payment Systems. If the same rate of reduction was maintained throughout 2010 and 2011, the Reserve Banks may have finally reduced inventory levels enough to warrant increased orders for new quarters.

Based on the jump in production for the final quarter issued in 2011, this seems to be a distinct possibility. After two years of unusually low mintages, the America the Beautiful Quarters Program may see higher production and more widespread distribution in 2012.

El Yunque National Forest Featured on Quarter

Les Peters — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:25:38 +0000

El Yunque National Forest, located in northeaster Puerto Rico, was previously called Luquillo National Forest, and the Caribbean National Forest, and is the only tropical rain forest in the United States. It was originally set aside by Spain’s King Alfonso XII in 1876. Its 240 inches of annual rainfall create a lush environment for plants and animals to flourish, including over a dozen different species of the Coqui tree frog, which is approximately the size of the quarter dollar coin.

The El Yunque National Forest Quarter depicts a Coqui tree frog and a Puerto Rican parrot. Also included in the design are the incused phrases “El Yunque”, “Puerto Rico”, and “E Pluribus Unum”, as well as the date of issue. The coin will represent the first issue of the United States Mint’s America the Beautiful Quarters Program for 2012, and the eleventh issue of the series overall.

The Federal Reserve Banks have published a circulation release date of January 23, 2012 for the El Yunque Quarter. The United States Mint has indicated a sales starting date of February 3, 2012 for circulating quality El Yunque Quarters within bags and rolls. An official launch ceremony has not yet been announced.

Throughout the year, the El Yunque National Forest Quarter will be available from the U.S. Mint in the following products:

in 2-roll sets from the Philadelphia and Denver mints
in 100-coin bags from the Philadelphia and Denver mints
as part of the 2012 America the Beautiful Quarter Proof Set and Silver Proof Set
as part of the 2012 Uncirculated Mint Set
as part of the 2012 Proof Set and Silver Proof Set
in the 2012 El Yunque National Forest Site Quarter Three-Coin Set
as part of the 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters Uncirculated Coin Set
as part of the 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters Circulating Coin Set

Visit www.usmint.gov for current prices and to order, or call 800-USA-MINT (872-6468).

US Mint Releases 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set

Coin Update — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:59:01 +0000

On January 17, 2012, the United States Mint began accepting orders for the 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set. Each set includes the five new quarters scheduled for release this year in proof format.

The obverse of each quarter features a restored version of the 1932 John Flanagan portrait of George Washington. The reverse of each quarter features a unique design representing one of five national parks or sites:

El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico
Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Acadia National Park in Maine
Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii
Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska

United States Mint proof coins are struck multiple times with specially polished dies. The proof blanks are also specially treated, polished, and cleaned to ensure high quality strikes. The resulting coins feature sharp relief, with frosted sculpted foregrounds and mirrored backgrounds. The proof coins included in this set are struck at the San Francisco Mint and carry the "S" mint mark.

The 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set is priced at $14.95, unchanged from the price level for the prior year set. There are no household ordering limits or specified maximum production limits imposed.

Since 1999, the United States Mint has offered separate proof sets containing only the year's quarters, in addition to the annual sets containing all of the year's circulating coin denominations. The full 2012 Proof Set will be released at a later date.

2012 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set

Coin Update — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:05:13 +0000

Today January 10, 2012, the United States Mint began sales of the 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set. The five coin sets include each of the quarter designs for this year, struck in 90% silver.

The America the Beautiful Quarters Program features national parks or sites from each state, territory, and the District of Columbia depicted on reverse designs for the quarter dollar. The designs are released at a rate of five designs per year, with the program scheduled to run from 2010 to 2021.

Reverse designs for this year feature El Yunque National Forest, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Acadia Naitonal Park, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and Denali National Park and Preserve. These coins represent the eleventh to fifteenth releases within the overall series. The order of release is based on the dates the sites were first federally designated.

The coins are struck at the San Francisco Mint and carry the “S” mint mark. The coins are minted using specially prepared, highly polished dies, which produce coins with mirrored backgrounds and frosted cameo images.

The 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set is priced at $42.95, with no specified product limit and no household limits imposed. Orders may be placed for the sets online at http://catalog.usmint.gov/

Looking ahead, the United States Mint has scheduled the release of the clad version of the America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set on January 17, 2012. The 2012 Presidential Dollars Proof Set is scheduled for release on February 23, 2012.

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US Mint Offers Chickasaw Quarter Three Coin Set

Coin Update — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:41:33 +0000

On December 20, 2011, the United States Mint began accepting orders for the 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters Three Coin Set featuring the Chickasaw National Recreation Area Quarters. Similar sets have been released for all previous coins in the series.

The reverse design of the Chickasaw Quarter features a depiction of Lincoln Bridge, the first constructed improvement to the area. The limestone bridge was dedicated in 1909 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. The reverse was designed by Donna Weaver and sculpted by Jim Licaretz. The obverse of the coin contains the 1932 portrait of George Washington by John Flanagan.

Each three coin set includes on uncirculated quarter struck at the Philadelphia Mint, one uncirculated quarter struck at the Denver Mint, and one proof quarter struck at the San Francisco Mint. The coins are mounted together on a plastic card, which includes descriptions of the coin and site as well as a certificate of authenticity on the back.

The sets are priced at $14.95 and available online at http://catalog.usmint.gov.

The America the Beautiful Quarters Program will feature 56 different reverse designs issued from 2010 to 2021 representing national parks or sites from each state, territory, and the District of Columbia.

2012 America the Beautiful Quarters Designs Announced

Michael Zielinski — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:30:23 +0000

The United States Mint has announced the design selections for the 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters. This series features a different national park or site from each of the 50 states, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia. The reverse designs for the coming year will feature El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico, Acadia National Park in Maine, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii, and Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

Initially, the US Mint prepared four or five design candidates for each quarter based on source materials provided by a Federal official serving as liaison for the site. These designs were reviewed by the Secretary of the Interior, the chief executive of the host jurisdiction, the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC). The Secretary of the Treasury had the final authority to select designs.

The reverse design for the El Yunque National Forest Quarter depicts a Coqui tree frog and a Puerto Rican parrot behind an epiphyte plant with tropical flora in the background. The reverse was designed by US Mint Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer Gary Whitley and sculpted by US Mint Sculptor-Engraver Michael Gaudioso. The anticipated circulation release date for the coin is January 23, 2012.

The design for the Chaco Culture National Historical Park Quarter features a view of two elevated kivas that are part of the Chetro Ketl Complex. Also in view are the north wall of Chetro Ketl and the north wall of the canyon. The reverse was designed by Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer Donna Weaver and sculpted by US Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill. The anticipated circulation release date for the coin is April 2, 2012.

The reverse of the Acadia National Park Quarter features a view of the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse before Acadia's coastline. The design is by Artistic Infusion Program Associate Designer Barbara Fox and sculpted by US Mint Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna. The anticipated circulation release date for the coin is June 11, 2012.

The design of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Quarter is a dramatic portrayal of an eruption on the east rift of Kilauea Volcano. The reverse was designed and sculpted by US Mint Sculptor-Engraver Charles L. Vickers. The anticipated release date for this coin is August 27, 2012.

Lastly, the design for the Denali National Park Quarter features a depiction of a Dall sheep with Mount McKinley in the background. The reverse was designed by Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer Susan Gamble and sculpted by US Mint Sculptor-Engraver Jim Licaretz. The anticipated circulation release date for this coin is November 5, 2012.

The obverse design for each coin will feature the 1932 portrait of George Washington designed by John Flanagan.

The America the Beautiful Quarters Program will feature five different designs per year through 2020, with a final design released in 2021. In addition to general circulation release, the United States Mint offers various numismatic products including the quarters, as well as five ounce silver bullion coins featuring the likenesses of the quarters.

US Mint Offers 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters Circulating Coin Set

Coin Update — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:41:57 +0000

The United States Mint has begun sales for the latest numismatic product offering featuring the coins of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program. This program will feature designs representing national parks or sites from each of the 50 states, 5 U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia.

The 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters Circulating Coin Set includes examples of each of the designs issued for the current year struck at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. The coins feature designs representing Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, Glacier National Park in Montana, Olympic National Park in Washington, Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi, and Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Oklahoma.

The ten coins included in the set are "circulating quality". They are packaged to allow easy removal so the coins can be placed into albums or other display options. Each set is priced at $9.95 plus applicable shipping and handling.

The US Mint introduced this product type in November 2010, with a set containing the 2010-dated releases. The previous year's set still remains available for sale on the Mint's website. These products may be purchased online at http://catalog.usmint.gov/

United States Mint Launches Chickasaw Quarter

Coin Update — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:59:41 +0000

The United States Mint and the National Park Service held a launch ceremony for the Chickasaw National Recreation Area Quarter on November 16, 2011. This coin represents the tenth release of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program and the final release for the year.

The ceremony was held at Flower Park. Ornamental flower beds within the park were planted a century ago and Lincoln Bridge is at the southern edge of the park. This bridge was built in 1909 for the centennial of President Abraham Lincoln's birth and is depicted on the reverse design of the quarter.

B. B. Craig, the United States Mint Associate Director of Sales and Marketing, and Bruce Noble, Superintendent of Chickasaw National Recreation Area, were the co-hosts of the event. Oklahoma State Representative Wes Hilliard served as the master of ceremonies.

The launch ceremony was open to the public and followed by a coin exchange where attendees could exchange currency for rolls of Chickasaw Quarters.

The circulation release date for the Chickasaw National Recreation Area Quarters took place two days earlier on November 14, 2011. On the same date, the United States Mint also began sales of numismatic bags and rolls of the quarters. The two roll sets include one 40-coin roll from the Philadelphia Mint and one 40-coin roll from the Denver Mint, priced at $39.95. The bags contain 100 coins from either Philadelphia or Denver and are priced at $49.95. These will remain available for sale for one year from the release date and can be purchased online at http://catalog.usmint.gov/

The America the Beautiful Quarters Program features a national park or site in each state, U.S. territory, and the District of Columbia. The program is scheduled to run from 2010 until 2021, with five different designs release each year with the exception of the final year of the series which will feature one design.

Chickasaw National Recreation Area Featured on Quarter

Les Peters — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:36:44 +0000

Chickasaw National Recreation Area, located in south central Oklahoma, was named to honor the Chickasaw Indian Nation, who were relocated to the area during the 1830’s. The park was originally established in 1902 as the Sulphur Springs Reservation, renamed and re-designated as the Platt National Park in 1906, and was combined with the Arbuckle Recreation Area in 1976.

The Chickasaw National Recreation Area Quarter depicts the Lincoln Bridge, built of limestone and dedicated in 1909 to celebrate the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. The bridge was the first constructed improvement in the national recreation area and a favorite scenic spot. Also included in the design are the incused phrases “Chickasaw”, “Oklahoma”, and “E Pluribus Unum”, as well as the date of issue. The coin will represent the fifth and final issue of the United States Mint’s America the Beautiful Quarters Program for 2011.

The official circulation release date for the coin will be November 14, 2011. Two days later on November 16, an official launch ceremony will take place in Flower Park on the grounds of the national recreation area.

The Chickasaw Quarter is or will be available from the U.S. Mint in the following products:

in 2-roll sets from the Philadelphia and Denver mints
in 100-coin bags from the Philadelphia and Denver mints
as part of the 2011 America the Beautiful Quarter Proof Set and Silver Proof Set
as part of the 2011 Uncirculated Mint Set
as part of the 2011 Proof Set and Silver Proof Set
in the 2011 Chickasaw National Recreation Area Quarter Three-Coin Set
as part of the 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters Uncirculated Coin Set
as part of the 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters Circulating Coin Set

Visit www.usmint.gov for current prices and to order, or call 800-USA-MINT (872-6468).