68) America The
Beautiful Quarters (1):
Quarters issued by the U.S. Mint (2010):
Commencement of the America the
Beautiful Quarters Programme (2010):
After
the successful completion of and popularity gained by the “50 State Quarters
and the 2009 D.C. & the 5 U.S. Territories Quarters Programme” which converted
nearly half of the USA population into active or passive coin collectors and
made them aware of/take pride in each State’s heritage/history/icons, the US
Mint was authorized by Congress to embark on a similar Programme, where
quarters would be issued celebrating/commemorating National Parks and National sites in the USA
under the “America The Beautiful Quarters” programme. In all, 56 National Parks and National sites
have been identified to be honoured.
The
Programme requires that the coin reverse be emblematic and “honor the national
park or other national site in each host jurisdiction deemed most appropriate
in terms of natural or historic significance”. The Programme is authorized
under the America and the beautiful Quarters National Quarter Dollar Coin Act,
2008.
The
Programme got off to a enthusiastic response with three US Mints – San
Francisco (mint mark “S”), issuing Proof coin/sets, Denver (mint mark “D”)
issuing uncirculated and circulating coins/ sets and Philadelphia (mint mark
“P”) issuing uncirculated and circulating coins/ sets for collectors. In
addition the quarters are being released as circulating coins for daily use.
The
series features five different designs to be releases every year beginning
2010. The Programme is to continue until at least 2021. The series may be
extended thereafter upon assessing the success of the Programme upto 2033 to
cover more National Parks and National Sites.
I
have started collecting these America and the Beautiful Quarters sets ab initio
from 2010 onwards and propose to collect
all the coins issued under this series. In a way, collecting these coins has
made me aware of the Parks and the heritage/history covered by these coins, not
to mention the enormous effort put in by the designers of each individual coin
and the sculptors/engravers who have given us these beautiful mementos as
timeless keepsakes for our collections.
The
following five quarters were released by the US Mint in 2010:
The above is a collection of 14 uncirculated coins issued by the US Mint Philadelphia, (Mint mark "P", below the motto "In God We Trust" on all five quarters given here) which shows the obverse of five quarters . The obverse shows a portrait of George Washington and is designed by John Flanagan.
The reverse of these five quarters, included in the set and explained in detail below.
The Composition of all these five quarters is: 8.33% nickel, balance copper. Weight: 5.67 gms. Diameter: 24.30 mm or 0.955 inch: edge: reeded. Mints: Philadelphia (P), Denver (D) Uncirculated coins .
The reverse of these five quarters, included in the set and explained in detail below.
The Composition of all these five quarters is: 8.33% nickel, balance copper. Weight: 5.67 gms. Diameter: 24.30 mm or 0.955 inch: edge: reeded. Mints: Philadelphia (P), Denver (D) Uncirculated coins .
1)
Hot
Springs National Park (Arkansas):
The Hot Springs National Park quarter is the first quarter of
2010 and has the privilege of being the first quarter to kick off the America
and the Beautiful Quarters Programme in 2010. It was identified for being the
first quarter in “America and the beautiful Quarters series” because it is the
oldest Federal Reserve.
The Hot Springs were known to several Native American tribes
for thousands of years and one of the first Europeans to reach it was the
Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1541. In 1804, the Dunbar – Hunter
Expedition was sent by President Thomas Jefferson to locate the Hot Springs
near which were located pre-historic American Indian quarries. Later, a town
came up around the hot springs to provide health services and therapy. Still
later Hot Springs was established as a National site on 20th April 1832.
The Hot Springs Reservation was set aside for public use as a park on 16th
June 1880 and was made a National Park on 4th March 1921, with a
focus on conserving the water from the 47 springs that come out of the Hot
Springs Mountain and to ensure that water was made available for drinking and
therapy.
It is the smallest National Park in the USA having an area of
about 900 acres only. The Hot Springs flow from the western slope of Hot
Springs Mountain which is part of the Ouachita Mountain Range. The springs are
all grouped around the base of the Hot Springs Mountain, discharging over half
a million gallons of water daily.
The Hot springs have not been preserved in
their natural state, instead they have been managed artificially to conserve
the emanating hot water for the visitors, who have been bathing in these waters
for over two centuries, taking advantage of its therapeutic
properties/qualities.
The entire Bathhouse Row area is, itself, a National Historic
Landmark district containing the grandest collection of bathhouses of its kind
in Northern America, including that styled in the Golden Age architecture.
The Northern slopes of the ridges and basins provide a habitat
for deciduous forest dominated by oak and hickory. Pines are found abundantly
on the Southern side of the ridges. The
Forest provides shelter to Coyotes, Raccoon, American Mink, frogs, nine banded
Armadillo, squirrels, rabbits, Opossum, Foxes and migratory birds following the
Mississippi Flyway, among others.
The park attracts over 4 to 5 million visitors annually.
The quarter’s reverse design shows the façade of the Hot
Springs National Park Headquarters building with a thermal fountain in the
foreground. The headquarters building itself has a fascinating architecture,
having been built in the Spanish colonial revival style and completed in 1936.
The National Service emblem is shown on the right of the door, when one faces
the coin.
On the periphery of the coin are the
inscriptions “HOT SPRINGS”, “ARKANSAS”, “E.PLURIBUS UNUM” (One Out Of Many) and
the year of issue “2010”. The initials of the designer “DE” (Don Everhart) and
sculptor/engraver “JFM” (Joseph Menna) are placed on the lower portion of the
design.
2)
Yellowstone
National Park (Wyoming):
The
Yellowstone National Park Quarter is the second quarter of 2010 and the second
overall in the America and the Beautiful Quarters Programme. It was established
as a National site on 1st March 1872. The Park has an extra-ordinary
collection of the World’s most amazing geysers. Native Americans lived here for
more than 11000 years.
Yellowstone National Park covers an area of
about 3500 square miles. It has several lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain
ranges. Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North
America and is situated over the “Yellowstone Caldera”, the largest
supervolcano on the continent. Half of the World’s geothermal features are in
Yellowstone, fueled by the volcanism of the caldera. The Park has one of the
world’s largest petrified forests (trees which long ago were buried in ash and
soil and transformed from wood to minerals.
The
Park sits atop the Yellowstone Plateau at about 8000 feet above sea-level, and
is bounded on all sides by the mountain ranges of the Middle Rocky Mountains.
The highest point in the park is Eagle Peak at 11,350 feet and the lowest point
is along Reese Creek at 5300 feet. The
most prominent summit on the Yellowstone plateau is Mount Washburn at 10200
feet. There are 290 waterfalls, the highest being the “Lower Falls of the
Yellowstone River” at over 300 feet.
The
Park is home to several varieties of Wildlife. Several species of animals,
fishes and reptiles are found in this Park, the more well-known species being
Grizzly Bears, wolves, bison, lynx, deer, mountain goat, pronghorn, elk and
mountain lion. Interestingly, the park is home to the “Yellowstone Park Bison
Herd” which is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the USA.
Nearly
2 million visitors come to the Park annually.
On
the reverse of this coin is seen the “Old Faithful Geyser”, which is the most
famous of all the geysers found in this Park, with a mature/full grown bull
Bison in the foreground.
On
the periphery of the coin are the inscriptions “YELLOWSTONE”, “WYOMING”,
“E.PLURIBUS UNUM” (One Out Of Many) and the year of issue “2010”. The initials
of the designer and sculptor/engraver “DE” (Don Everhart) are placed on the
lower portion of the design.
The above is an image of a quarter received in general circulation exhibiting the above features.
3)
Yosemite National Park (California):
The
Yosemite National Park quarter is the third quarter of 2010 and the third
overall in the America and the Beautiful Quarters Programme. The Park spans
over Eastern sections of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in the Central
Eastern portion of California. It is spread over 1200 square miles and is one
of the first wilderness parks in the country. It was first established as a
national site on 1st October 1890. It was designated as a World
Heritage site in 1984.
Yosemite
is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls,
clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves and bio-diversity. Almost 95% of the Park
is designated wilderness. The Park offers rock-climbing, hiking, exploring and
knowing about the natural and cultural history of Yosemite, walking around the
Giant Sequoia groves among other activities.
About 10 million years ago, the
Sierra Nevada was uplifted which resulted in the mountain slopes, steep streams
and river beds and deep canyons. About a million years ago, the glaciers formed
in the location of the Park and sculpted a U-shaped valley which is a tourist
attraction. It has several deep valleys, grand meadows and ancient giant
sequoias and waterfalls.
Almost
all of the landforms in the Yosemite area are cut from the granite rock of the
“Sierra Nevada Batholith”, (a batholiths is a large mass of intrusive igneous
rock that formed below the Earth’s surface).
”El Capitan”
is a prominent granite cliff that looms over the Yosemite Valley and is one of
the most popular rock climbing destinations in the World because of its diverse
range of climbing routes, as well as accessibility throughout the year.
Yosemite also has beautiful areas like the Tuolumne Meadows, Dana Meadows/Mountain,
Clark Range, Cathedral range, Kuna Crest, Sierra crest, Pacific crest and
granite peaks such as Mount Conness. Mount Lyell is the highest point in the
park. The largest glacier is the Lyell Glacier and covers 160 acres.
Over
3.7 million visitors come to the Park annually.
The
reverse of this coin depicts the “El Capitan” which is the largest granite
monolith in the World and has a height of over 3000 feet above the valley floor
where it is situated.
On
the periphery of the coin are the inscriptions “YOSEMITE”, “CALIFORNIA”,
“E.PLURIBUS UNUM” (One Out Of Many) and the year of issue “2010”. The initials
of the designer “JFM” (Joseph Menna) and sculptor/engraver “PH” (Phebe
Hemphill) are placed on the lower section of the design.
The
Park has five major Vegetation zones:
chaparral /oak woodland, lower montane forest, upper montane forest,
subalpine zone and alpine. There are more than 1400 plant species in the Park.
A large number of animal and bird species are also living in the Park. Some of
the prominent ones are American Black Bear, Bobcat, Cougar, Gray Fox, Mountain
Kingsnake, Marmots, Jackrabbits, Nutcrackers Blach Rosy Finch, White-headed
Woodpeckers, Spotted owls etc.
4)
Grand Canyon National Park
Arizona):
The
Grand Canyon National Park quarter is the fourth quarter of 2010 and the fourth
overall in the America and the Beautiful Quarters Programme. Located in
Arizona, the Grand Canyon is the 15th oldest National Park in the
USA. It was established as a National site
on 20th February 1893. It was declared a Grand Canyon Game Preserve
in 1906 and in 1908 it was designated as a National Monument. It was only in
1919 that it was established as the Grand Canyon National Park. It was declared
a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
The Park covers 1900 sq. miles of area in
the Coconino and Mohave counties. It attracts nearly half a million visitors
annually.
The
creation of the National Park helped thwart proposals to dam the Colorado River
within its boundaries and the Glen Canyon Dam was only built upriver later
on. In 1975, the Marble Canyon National
Monument was made a part of the Grand Canyon National Park.
The
Grand Canyon has an immense and awe-inspiring landscape and size which is upto
277 river miles long and upto 18 miles wide and a mile deep. The Park’s main
attraction is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colarado River, often considered
as one of the seven “Natural Wonders of the World”. The Grand Canyon and its extensive distribution of tributary
canyons is valued because of its size, depth and exposed layers of colourful
rocks dating back to the Precambrian times.
The Canyon itself was created by
the incision of the Colorado River and its tributaries after the Colorado
Plateau was uplifted, causing the Colorado River system to develop along its
present course. The main tourist areas are the North and the South Rims of the
Grand Canyon itself. The rest of the Park is rugged and can be accessed by pack
trail and back-country roads.
The
reverse of this coin depicts a view of the granaries above the Nankoweap Delta
in Marble Canyon (the Northernmost section of the Grand Canyon) near the
Colorado River. These granaries were used for storing food and seeds between
1050 and 1150 A.D.
On
the periphery of the coin are the inscriptions “GRAND CANYON”, “ARIZONA”,
“E.PLURIBUS UNUM” (One Out Of Many) and the year of issue “2010”. The initials
of the designer and sculptor/engraver “PH” (Phebe Hemphill) are placed on the
lower section of the design on the right hand side.
5)
Mount
Hood National Forest (Oregon):
The
Mount Hood National Forest is the fifth quarter to be issued in 2010 and the
fifth overall in the America and the Beautiful Quarters Programme. Located 20
miles East of Portland, Oregon, which lies in the northern part of the
Willamette River Valley, Mount Hood National Forest extends South from the
scenic Columbia River Gorge across more than 60 miles of forested mountains,
lakes and streams to the Olallie Scenic Area, a high lake basin under the
slopes of Mount Jefferson. The Forest covers more than one million acres of
property. It was first established as the “Bull Run Forest Reserve” in 1892. It
was established as a National site on 28th September 1893. Then
again, it was merged with part of “Cascade National Forest” on 1908. Later, in 1924,
it was renamed as “Mount Hood National Forest”.
Mount
Hood National Forest is one of the most visited National Forests in the USA
attracting over four million visitors annually.
Two of its main highlights are the Timberline Lodge and the Clackamas Wild
and Scenic River. Some other places of tourist interest are Lost Lake, Burnt
Lake, Trillium Lake, Timothy Lake and the Old Oregon Trail. Visitors can also
go fishing, boating, hiking, rafting, camping, skiing, biking etc.
The
reverse of this coin depicts an imposing snapshot of Mount Hood in all its glory
togetherwith with Lost Lake in the foreground.
On
the periphery of the coin are the inscriptions “MOUNT HOOD”, “OREGON”,
“E.PLURIBUS UNUM” (One Out Of Many) and the year of issue “2010”. The initials
of the designer and sculptor/engraver “PH” (Phebe Hemphill) are placed on the
lower section of the design on the right hand side.
Links:
1) America and the Beautiful Quarters 2011
2) America and the Beautiful Quarters 2012
3) America and the Beautiful Quarters 2013
4) US State Quarters Programme
5) Native American Themed one dollar coins
6) Susan B. Anthony, Civil Rights Leader - One dollar Commemorative coin
7) The Great Seal of the USA
8) America The Beautiful Quarters - 2014
9) Westward Journey Nickel Series - 2004-2006
10) New $ 100 Bill with Additional Security Features
11) The Strange Case of me becoming a US Citizen, without even applying for it, thanks to the US Mint
12) America the Beautiful Quarters Programme - 2015
13) Forever Stamps: Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the US Civil War 1861-1865
14) US Bicentennial Coins
15) Commemorating the 225th Anniversary of the U.S. Marshals Service with coins
16) American Eagle Gold Coins
17) American Buffalo Gold Coins
18) America the Beautiful Quarters - 2016
Links:
1) America and the Beautiful Quarters 2011
2) America and the Beautiful Quarters 2012
3) America and the Beautiful Quarters 2013
4) US State Quarters Programme
5) Native American Themed one dollar coins
6) Susan B. Anthony, Civil Rights Leader - One dollar Commemorative coin
7) The Great Seal of the USA
8) America The Beautiful Quarters - 2014
9) Westward Journey Nickel Series - 2004-2006
10) New $ 100 Bill with Additional Security Features
11) The Strange Case of me becoming a US Citizen, without even applying for it, thanks to the US Mint
12) America the Beautiful Quarters Programme - 2015
13) Forever Stamps: Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the US Civil War 1861-1865
14) US Bicentennial Coins
15) Commemorating the 225th Anniversary of the U.S. Marshals Service with coins
16) American Eagle Gold Coins
17) American Buffalo Gold Coins
18) America the Beautiful Quarters - 2016
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