Background photo by Agnosticpreacherskid.
The following is a list of the artist submissions for the 2020-2021 America the Beautiful quarter reverse designs that were reviewed at today’s Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) meeting. The designs cover the quarters commemorating Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, Weir Farm National Historic Site, the Tuskegee Airmen, the National Park of American Samoa, and the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. The CCAC’s recommended designs to the Secretary of the Treasury are included in this list. Let us know in the comments which designs you would choose for each coin reverse!
Salt River Bay National Historical Park
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The CCAC’s recommended design: VI-01. It won with 23 votes. It depicts a red mangrove tree in an early stage of its life cycle, as it evolves from a very small plant to an adult tree. The design brings awareness to the park’s endangered mangrove forests and the unique and delicate nature of how the species reproduces in salt water.
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
The CCAC’s recommended design: VT-01A. It tied with VT-02, each design acquiring 10 votes (neither reaching the 13-vote threshold). In the end, the CCAC decided to endorse VT-01A. It depicts the planting of a sugar maple sapling, representing the regeneration and conservation of the forests. In the background, design 01 includes the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion on a hill, while design 01A portrays a grassy hillside with the Green Mountains.
Weir Farm National Historic Site
No formal recommendation has yet been made by the CCAC. In a rare, but not unheard of, turn of events, the CCAC requested a resubmission of several of the designs for reconsideration in a later round of voting.
Tuskegee Airmen
The CCAC’s recommended design: AL-01. It won with 18 votes, barely defeating design AL-13, which got 15 votes. The design depicts a Tuskegee Airman pilot suiting up to join the fight during World War II with the Moton Field control tower in the background. The pilot looks upward with pride and confidence as two P-51 Mustangs pass overhead. The inscription THEY FOUGHT TWO WARS is arced across the top as a reference to the dual battles the Tuskegee Airmen fought — fascism abroad and racial discrimination at home.
National Park of American Samoa
The CCAC’s recommended design: AS-13. It won with 22 votes. The design portrays a threadfin butterflyfish — a tropical fish common to American Samoa, and the reefs around the National Park of American Samoa. The design in the background is a Polynesian symbol of a wave, common to the Samoan tradition of tattoo (tatau) within the wave design.
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
The CCAC’s recommended design: KS-09. It won with 23 votes (out of 24 possible votes) and was the CCAC’s most-preferred design out of all the artists’ submissions. The design shows a skyward view of a regal fritillary butterfly against a backdrop of big bluestem and Indian grasses, iconic to Tallgrass Prairie.
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As a collector, history enthusiast, and nature lover, I have been a fan of the America the Beautiful series from its inception for a number of reasons.
In my view, there are numerous excellent design submissions depicted above. I no longer try to pick the best designs because as often as not, the designs that I think are best are apparently not the designs that the CCAC thinks is the best. So I just wait till the final design is selected and await the coin’s releases.
I’m collecting the entire series in the 5 oz Uncirculated version and silver proof quarter version. I look forward to every new ATB coin release.