The Smokey Bear Quarter Roll Collection

Detailed Information

In 2010, the United States Mint began to issue 56 quarter-dollar coins featuring designs depicting national parks and other national sites as part of the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. Each year, the public will see five new national site designs depicted on the reverse (tails side) of America the Beautiful Quarters. The United States Mint will issue these quarters in the order in which the honored site was first established as a national site.

2010

The Hot Springs National Park quarter is the first of 2010 and the first overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. Hot Springs National Park, destination of the Dunbar-Hunter Expedition sent by President Thomas Jefferson in 1804, features prehistoric American Indian quarries. A bustling town grew up around the hot springs to provide health services. Hot Springs was first established as a national site on April 20, 1832 (4 Stat. 505), to conserve the water from the 47 springs that emerge from Hot Springs Mountain and to ensure that water was made available for drinking and therapy.

The Yellowstone National Park quarter is the second of 2010 and the second overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. First established as a national site on March 1, 1872 (17 Stat. 32), Yellowstone National Park is home to a large variety of wildlife, including grizzly bears, wolves, bison and elk. Preserved within the park are Old Faithful and a collection of the world's most extraordinary geysers. The reverse image features the Old Faithful geyser with a mature bull bison in the foreground. Inscriptions are YELLOWSTONE, WYOMING, 2010 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Yellowstone National Park.

The Yosemite National Park quarter is the third of 2010 and the third overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. Yosemite National Park, one of the first wilderness parks in the United States, is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles are deep valleys, grand meadows and ancient giant sequoias. It was first established as a national site on October 1, 1890 (26 Stat. 650). The reverse image depicts the iconic El Capitan, which rises more than 3,000 feet above the valley floor and is the largest monolith of granite in the world. Inscriptions are YOSEMITE, CALIFORNIA, 2010 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Yosemite National Park.

The Grand Canyon National Park quarter is the fourth of 2010 and the fourth overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. A powerful and inspiring landscape, the Grand Canyon overwhelms the senses through its immense size of the 277 river miles long, up to 18 miles wide and a mile deep. The Grand Canyon was first established as a national site on February 20, 1893 (27 Stat. 469). The reverse image features a view of the granaries above the Nankoweap Delta in Marble Canyon near the Colorado River. (Marble Canyon is the northernmost section of the Grand Canyon.) These granaries were used for storing food and seeds between 1050 and 1150 A.D. Inscriptions are GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA, 2010 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Grand Canyon National Park.

The Mount Hood National Forest quarter is the fifth of 2010 and the fifth overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. 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 strikingly beautiful Columbia River Gorge across more than 60 miles of forested mountains, lakes and streams, to the Olallie Scenic Area. The forest encompasses more than one million acres. Two of its many highlights are the Timberline Lodge, a national historic landmark in its own right, and the Clackamas Wild and Scenic River. Mount Hood was first established as a national site on September 28, 1893 (Pres. Proc. No. 6; 28 Stat. 1240).

This reverse image depicts a view of Mount Hood with Lost Lake in the foreground. Inscriptions are MOUNT HOOD, OREGON, 2010 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Mount Hood National Forest.

2010 America The Beautiful Quarter Production

Design	Denver	Philadelphia	Total
Hot Springs National Park	34,000,000	35,600,000	69,600,000
Yellowstone National Park	34,800,000	33,600,000	68,400,000
Yosemite National Park	34,800,000	35,200,000	70,000,000
Grand Canyon National Park	35,400,000	34,800,000	70,200,000
Mount Hood National Forest	34,400,000	34,400,000	68,800,000

2011

The Gettysburg National Military Park quarter is the first to be released in 2011, and the sixth overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. The Battle of Gettysburg, the Union victory in the summer of 1863 that ended General Robert E. Lee's second and most ambitious invasion of the North, was a turning point in the Civil War. Often referred to as the "High Water Mark of the Rebellion," it was among the war's bloodiest battles, with 51,000 casualties. It also provided President Abraham Lincoln with the setting for his most famous address. It was the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association, a group of concerned citizens, that first set out in 1864 to preserve the battlefield as a memorial to the Union troops who fought there. The park is well known for its many monuments and memorials, the majority of which were placed by veterans of the battle. On February 11, 1895, the battlefield was transferred to the federal government as Gettysburg National Military Park (28 Stat. 651). The reverse image depicts the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument, which is located on the battle line of the Union Army at Cemetery Ridge. Inscriptions are GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, 2011 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Gettysburg National Military Park.

The Glacier National Park quarter is the second to be released in 2011 and the seventh overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. The park is named for its prominent glacier-carved terrain and remnant glaciers descended from the ice age of 10,000 years ago. Glacial forces, ancient seas, geologic faults and uplifting all combined to create some of the most spectacular scenery on earth. Known to the Blackfeet as the "Backbone of the World," Glacier National Park preserves more than 1 million acres of forests, alpine meadows, lakes, rugged peaks and glacially carved valleys in the Northern Rocky Mountains. These lands were first set aside as a national reserve on February 22, 1897 (29 Stat. 907).

The reverse image depicts a classic view of the northeast slope of Mount Reynolds towering in the distance, while a mountain goat climbs over the rocky slopes of the park's high country. Inscriptions are GLACIER, MONTANA, 2011 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Glacier National Park.

The Olympic National Park quarter is the third to be released in 2011, and the eighth overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. From glistening tidepools to glacier-capped peaks, Olympic National Park protects more than 70 miles of Pacific Ocean beaches and, less than 33 miles away, the glacier-capped 7,980-foot summit of Mount Olympus that is the heart of the Olympic range. The park consists of coastline, rugged peaks, meadows and lakes, scattered forests and steep forested slopes ending in broad, U-shaped valleys. Geology, climate, isolation, history and sheer size make this nearly 1 million-acre park home to relatively intact ecosystems and a priceless living laboratory for plants and myriad species of animals large and small. It was first established as a national site on February 22, 1897 (29 Stat. 901).

The reverse image depicts a Roosevelt elk standing on a gravel river bar of the Hoh River with a view of Mount Olympus in the background. Inscriptions are OLYMPIC, WASHINGTON, 2011 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Olympic National Park.

The Vicksburg National Military Park quarter is the fourth released in 2011 and the ninth overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. The park commemorates one of the pivotal battles of the Civil War — the campaign, siege, and defense of Vicksburg, Miss. Surrender on July 4, 1863, coupled with the fall of Port Hudson, La., split the South, giving control of the Mississippi River to the North. The museum exhibits at the park depict the hardships of civilians and soldiers during the devastating 47-day siege of the city. More than 1,350 monuments, a national cemetery and the restored Union ironclad gunboat, the U.S.S. Cairo, mark the 16-mile tour road. The U.S.S. Cairo was the first warship sunk by an electronically detonated "torpedo," which ushered in a new age of naval warfare. Vicksburg was first established as a national site on February 21, 1899 (30 Stat. 841).

The reverse image depicts the U.S.S. Cairo on the Yazoo River as it would have been seen when it served the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. Inscriptions are VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI, 2011 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Vicksburg National Military Park.

The Chickasaw National Recreation Area quarter is the fifth released in 2011 and the 10th overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. The park is unique in that it was founded through the support of an Indian tribe, the Chickasaw Nation. Chickasaw National Recreation Area exists as a part of the national park system to provide for the protection of the area's unique resources, springs, streams, lakes and other natural features; to protect and interpret its cultural history, historic landscapes and structures; to commemorate the Chickasaw Nation; and to provide for public education, appreciation and recreational use and enjoyment of those resources. It was originally established as a national site on July 1, 1902 (32 Stat. 641). The reverse image depicts the Lincoln Bridge, built of limestone and dedicated in 1909 to celebrate the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. The bridge is the first constructed improvement in the national recreation area and a favorite scenic spot. Inscriptions are CHICKASAW, OKLAHOMA, 2011 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Chickasaw National Recreation Area.

2011 America The Beautiful Quarter Production

Design	Denver	Philadelphia	Total
Gettysburg National Military Park	30,400,000	30,800,000	61,200,000
Glacier National Park	31,200,000	30,400,000	61,600,000
Olympic National Park	30,600,000	30,400,000	61,000,000
Vicksburg National Military Park	33,400,000	30,800,000	64,200,000
Chickasaw National Recreation Area	69,400,000	73,800,000	143,200,000

2012

The El Yunque National Forest quarter is the first of 2012 and the 11th overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. El Yunque National Forest, located in Puerto Rico, is the sole tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest System. Despite the forest's relatively small 28,000-acre size, it is significant for its immense biodiversity and is popular with visitors for its year-round tropical climate. More than 1 million visitors from all over the world visit the forest each year to sample its eco-tourism pleasures while developing a greater understanding of its ecological importance by walking along the many beautiful trails. It was first established as a national site on January 17, 1903 (32 Stat. 2029).

The reverse design depicts a Coqui tree frog sitting on a leaf and a Puerto Rican parrot behind an epiphyte plant with tropical flora in the background. The Puerto Rican parrot is a highly endangered species unique to Puerto Rico, and its recovery began with the few birds left in El Yunque. Inscriptions are EL YUNQUE, PUERTO RICO, 2012 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of El Yunque National Forest.

The Chaco Culture National Historical Park quarter is the second of 2012 and the 12th overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. This historical park in New Mexico features Chaco Canyon, which was a major center of Puebloan culture between A.D. 850 and 1250. The Chacoan sites are part of the homeland of Pueblo Indian peoples of New Mexico, the Hopi Indians of Arizona and the Navajo Indians of the southwest. Chaco Canyon was the cultural center of a system of communities linked by road and trading networks across a 40,000 square-mile region in the Four Corners area from A.D. 850 to 1150. Chaco is remarkable for its multi-storied public buildings called "great houses," enormous circular ceremonial subterranean structures called "great kivas," and distinctive architecture featuring a notable concentration of petroglyphs and pictographs. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. It was first established as a national site on March 11, 1907 (35 Stat. 2119). The reverse design illustrates a view to the west of two elevated kivas that are part of the Chetro Ketl Complex. The design also shows the north wall of Chetro Ketl and the north wall of the canyon. Inscriptions are CHACO CULTURE, NEW MEXICO, 2012 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

2012 America The Beautiful Quarter Production

Design	Denver	Philadelphia	Total
El Yunque National Forest	25,000,000	25,800,000	50,800,000
Chaco Culture National Historical Park	22,000,000	22,000,000	44,000,000
Acadia National Park
Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park
Denali National Park and Preserve