Jump to: History | Future | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | How many are there? | Mint marks? | Are they worth anything? | How many different quarters are there? | How do you get the coins?
After the astounding success of the 50 state quarters, which ran from 1999 to 2008, and the subsequent D.C and U.S Territories Quarters, it was no surprise when Congress authorized a new program of designs for these coins in 2008.
Following in the footsteps of the previous programs, the America The Beautiful Quarters were issued by the United States Mint from 2010 to 2021, honoring national narks, historic sites, and forests, one from each state, territory, and federal district. In total, it featured 56 different reverse designs, making it the largest coin program in the country.
These coins are also referred to by the moniker of National Parks and Monuments quarters, or simply National Parks quarters. It is interesting to note that from all 56 of the sites honored, only 3 are repeats from the 50 States quarter: The Grand Canyon in Arizona, the Yosemite National Park in California, and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Nevertheless, fresh-new designs were provided for these iconic landmarks.
History of the program
America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act was approved by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 23, 2008. It stated that the Treasury Secretary at the time, Timothy Geithner, consulted with the Secretary of the Interior and the executive Chiefs from each jurisdiction to select the best sites the series would honor.
In addition, the Act provided guidelines for the choosing of the natural or historic sites and the subsequent designs:
- Selected sites should be ones that can be reasonably translated into designs that will make American citizens proud. They cannot incorporate frivolous or inappropriate scenarios, such as logos and buildings from commercial and other private organizations;
- Designs must not include any sort of portrait of a living person, neither a head-and-shoulders portrait nor bust of a dead person;
- Designs must not portray the outline or a map of a host state, district, or territory.
The US Mint issued five new designs each year, from 2010 to 2020, and one final design in 2021. The order of honored sites was in the order in which they were first established. In other words, from the 56 chosen sites, the oldest and first to be honored was the Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. It was established on April 20, 1832. The last issued design in 2021 was the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Alabama. It was the one most recently established as a landmark on the list, on November 6, 1998.
As for the obverse side, an initial discussion in the US Mint was to replace the classic George Washington’s bust for an image of President Theodore Roosevelt. The 26th President was paramount in the preservation of large areas of America’s forests and wildlife. In the end, they opted for a modified version of the original portrait from the Washington Quarter. It shows the Founding Father in profile, facing the left side (in the viewer’s perspective). We can see high details of his beautifully done hair, with the puffy sides, the curls near the neck, and the pigtail. The words on the outer rim read “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” on top and “QUARTER DOLLAR” on the bottom. The inscription “LIBERTY” is on the left face of the obverse, right below the chin, and the motto “IN GOD WE TRUST” is on the right, close to the hair.
Future programs for the quarter dollar
The 2008 Coin Act determined that, by 2018, the Secretary of Treasury could order a new set of 56 designs to honor more national parks, forests, and historic sites. That, however, was not enforced by then-Secretary, Steve Mnuchin. The same legislation stated that, upon the completion of the National Parks coin program, the obverse of the 25-cent piece should return to the original image of President Washington, as designed by John Flanagan. The reverse should contain the image of General Washington crossing the Delaware River, prior to the battle of Trenton. The U.S. Mint released the new quarter in April 2021.
However, Congress passed a new act in 2020, referred to as the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020. It provided the following themes for three new series of designs to be released until 2030:
- American Women quarters, from 2022 to 2025, honoring the lives of emblematic American women and their contribution to the country;
- A series commemorating the United States Semiquincentennial in 2026, in anticipation of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence that year;
- A series depicting youth sports, from 2027 to 2030.
List of America The Beautiful quarter designs
Below you will find the list of all 56 quarter dollar coins in the order the US Mint released them, along with a reverse side picture. Note that all designs contain the name of the jurisdiction on the left, and the motto “E PLURIBUS UNUM” on the right.
2010
- Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas
Site established on: April 20, 1832
Release date: January 26, 2010
Elements on the design: a water fountain in front of the park’s headquarters;
Total Mintage: 69,600,000
- Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming
Site established on: March 1, 1872
Release date: April 1, 2010
Elements on the design: an American bison and the geyser Old Faithful
Total Mintage: 68,400,000
- Yosemite National Park in California
Site established on: October 1, 1890
Release date: June 6, 2010
Elements on the design: El Capital, a vertical rock formation on the north side of the valley;
Total Mintage: 70,000,000
- Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona
Site established on: February 20, 1893
Release date: August 20, 2010
Elements on the design: the Marble Canyon, which marks the beginning of the Grand Canyon;
Total Mintage: 70,200,000
- Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon
Site established on: September 28, 1893
Release date: November 15, 2010
Elements on the design: the Lost Lake with Mount Hood in the background;
Total Mintage: 68,800,000
2011
- Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania
Site established on: February 11, 1895
Release date: January 24, 2011
Elements on the design: the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument;
Total Mintage: 61,200,000
- Glacier National Park in Montana
Site established on: February 22, 1897
Release date: April 4, 2011
Elements on the design: A rocky mountain goat and Reynolds Mountain in the back;
Total Mintage: 61,600,000
- Olympic National Park in Washington
Site established on: February 22, 1897
Release date: June 13, 2011
Elements on the design: a Roosevelt elk at Hoh River, at the foot of Mount Olympus;
Total Mintage: 61,000,000
- Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi
Site established on: February 21, 1899
Release date: August 29, 2011
Elements on the design: the warship USS Cairo, on the Yazoo River;
Total Mintage: 64,200,000
- Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Oklahoma
Site established on: July 1, 1902
Release date: November 14, 2011
Elements on the design: the Lincoln Bridge in Flower Park;
Total Mintage: 143,200,000
2012
- El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico
Site established on: January 17, 1903
Release date: January 23, 2012
Elements on the design: an iguaca (a Puerto Rican parrot) and a coqui frog;
Total Mintage: 50,800,000
- Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Site established on: March 11, 1907
Release date: April 2, 2012
Elements on the design: two kivas, part of the Chetro Keti Archeological site;
Total Mintage: 44,000,000
- Acadia National Park in Maine
Site established on: July 8, 1916
Release date: June 11, 2012
Elements on the design: the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse
Total Mintage: 46,406,000
- Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii
Site established on: August 1, 1916
Release date: August 27, 2012
Elements on the design: the volcano Kilauea;
Total Mintage: 124,800,000
- Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska
Site established on: February 26, 1917
Release date: November 5, 2012
Elements on the design: a Dall’s sheep with Denali mountain peak in the back;
Total Mintage: 302,000,000
2013
- White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire
Site established on: May 16, 1918
Release date: January 28, 2013
Elements on the design: birch trees and Mount Chocorua
Total Mintage: 176,400,00
- Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial in Ohio
Site established on: March 3, 1919
Release date: April 1, 2013
Elements on the design: the statue of Oliver Hazard Perry in front of the International Peace Memorial;
Total Mintage: 100,000,000
- Great Basin National Park in Nevada
Site established on: January 24, 1922
Release date: June 10, 2013
Elements on the design: a bristlecone pine;
Total Mintage: 263,800,000
- Fort McHenry National Monument in Maryland
Site established on: March 3, 1925
Release date: August 26, 2013
Elements on the design: a bombardment of Fort McHenry
Total Mintage: 271,400,000
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota
Site established on: March 3, 1925
Release date: November 4, 2013
Elements on the design: A side-view of Mount Rushmore, with a worker carving the final details on Jefferson’s face in the front with Washington’s face in the back
Total Mintage: 504,200,000
2014
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee
Site established on: May 22, 1926
Release date: January 27, 2014
Elements on the design: a log cabin in the middle of the forest, with a hawk flying by above;
Total Mintage: 172,600,000
- Shenandoah National Park in Virginia
Site established on: May 22, 1926
Release date: March 31, 2014
Elements on the design: a hiker at the summit of the Stony Man Trail;
Total Mintage: 310,600,000
- Arches National Park in Utah
Site established on: April 12, 1929
Release date: June 9, 2014
Elements on the design: the Delicate Arch with the La Sal Mountain in the background;
Total Mintage: 465,600,000
- Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado
Site established on: March 17, 1932
Release date: August 25, 2015
Elements on the design: a father and son playing by a creek, on the foot of Sangre de Cristo Mountains;
Total Mintage: 331,400,000
- Everglades National Park in Florida
Site established on: May 30, 1934
Release date: November 3, 2014
Elements on the design: a snakebird, also called an anhinga, resting on a willow, and a roseate spoonbill standing in the water;
Total Mintage: 300,001,200
2015
- Homestead National Monument of America in Nebraska
Site established on: March 19, 1936
Release date: February 9, 2015
Elements on the design: a log cabin and a water pump in the middle of two corn cobs, symbolizing shelter, water, and food;
Total Mintage: 463,000,000
- Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana
Site established on: June 3, 1936
Release date: April 13, 2015
Elements on the design: a wild turkey flying over bluestem grass and longleaf pines in the back;
Total Mintage: 776,800,000
- Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina
Site established on: June 30, 1936
Release date: June 8, 2015
Elements on the design: a stretch from Blue Ridge Parkway leading up to a tunnel, with flowering dogwood in the foreground;
Total Mintage: 830,816,000
- Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware
Site established on: June 22, 1937
Release date: September 14, 2015
Elements on the design: a great blue heron and a great egret in a saltmarsh;
Total Mintage: 481,400,000
- Saratoga National Historical Park in New York
Site established on: June 1, 1938
Release date: November 16, 2015
Elements on the design: the moment when British general John Burgoyne surrenders his sword to American General Horatio Gates after the Battles of Saratoga;
Total Mintage: 438,800,000
2016
- Shawnee National Forest in Illinois
Site established on: September 6, 1939
Release date: February 1, 2016
Elements on the design: Camel rock and vegetation, with a red-tailed hawk flying above;
Total Mintage: 307,400,000
- Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in Kentucky
Site established on: June 11, 1940
Release date: April 4, 2016
Elements on the design: a frontiersman at the Cumberland Mountains;
Total Mintage: 438,600,000
- Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia
Site established on: June 30, 1944
Release date: June 6, 2016
Elements on the design: John Brown’s Fort;
Total Mintage: 858,630,000
- Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota
Site established on: February 25, 1946
Release date: August 29, 2016
Elements on the design: Theodore Roosevelt riding a horse by the Little Missouri River;
Total Mintage: 454,800,000
- Fort Moultrie in South Carolina
Site established on: April 28, 1948
Release date: November 14, 2016
Elements on the design: Sergeant William Jasper returning the Moultrie Flag to the fort (at the time called Fort Sullivan);
Total Mintage: 296,600,000
2017
- Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa
Site established on: October 25, 1949
Release date: February 6, 2017
Elements on the design: the effigy mounds in the Marching Bear Group;
Total Mintage: 482,000,000
- Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in the District of Columbia
Site established on: September 5, 1962
Release date: April 3, 2017
Elements on the design: writer and abolitionist Frederick Douglas sitting at a desk with his house in the background;
Total Mintage: 370,600,000
- Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri
Site established on: August 27, 1964
Release date: June 5, 2017
Elements on the design: the Alley Spring Roller Mill;
Total Mintage: 403,000,000
- Ellis Island in New Jersey
Site established on: May 11, 1965
Release date: August 28, 2017
Elements on the design: a family of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, with the hospital building in the back;
Total Mintage: 488,000,000
- George Rogers Clark National Historical Park in Indiana
Site established on: July 23, 1966
Release date: November 13, 2017
Elements on the design: George Rogers Clark and his men crossing the flooded plains as they approach Fort Sackville;
Total Mintage: 377,400,000
2018
- Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan
Site established on: October 15, 1966
Release date: February 5, 2018
Elements on the design: Chapel Rock and a white pine tree;
Total Mintage: 369,314,000
- Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin
Site established on: September 26, 1970
Release date: April 9, 2018
Elements on the design: a kayaker approaching a sea cave in the Devils Island, with a lighthouse in the background;
Total Mintage: 439,800,000
- Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota
Site established on: January 8, 1971
Release date: June 11, 2018
Elements on the design: a great northern diver (common loon) in the foreground, with a rock cliff and a forest in the back;
Total Mintage: 435,200,000
- Cumberland Island National Seashore in Georgia
Site established on: October 23, 1972
Release date: August 27, 2018
Elements on the design: a snowy egret resting on a branch with a salt marsh in the back;
Total Mintage: 289,600,000
- Block Island National Wildlife Refuge in Rhode Island
Site established on: April 12, 1973
Release date: November 13, 2018
Elements on the design: a black-crowned night heron in flight over the Cow Cove beach. The Block Island North Lighthouse can be seen in the background;
Total Mintage: 319,200,000
2019
- Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts
Site established on: June 5, 1978
Release date: February 4, 2019
Elements on the design: a Lowell mill girl working at a power loom, with Boott Mills clock tower visible from the window;
Total Mintage: 350,000,000
- American Memorial Park in the Northern Mariana Islands
Site established on: August 18, 1978
Release date: April 1, 2019
Elements on the design: a Chamorro woman gazing at the Flag Circle and the Court of Honor;
Total Mintage: 327,400,000
- War in the Pacific National Historical Site in Guam
Site established on: August 18, 1978
Release date: June 3, 2019
Elements on the design: the arrival of American forces at Asan Bay during the Second Battle of Guam;
Total Mintage: 233,000,000
- San Antonio Missions National Historical Park in Texas
Site established on: November 10, 1978
Release date: August 26, 2019 (accidental release prior to August 20, 2019)
Elements on the design: a Greek cross with the elements of a Spanish colonial real coin on the angles: the Mission San Francisco de la Espada bell tower, a lion, wheat, and waves;
Total Mintage: 274,200,000
- Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho
Site established on: July 23, 1980
Release date: November 4, 2019 (accidental release prior to October 29, 2019)
Elements on the design: a man on a drift boat on Salmon River, with the wilderness in the back;
Total Mintage: 475,000,000
2020
- National Park of American Samoa in American Samoa
Site established on: October 31, 1988
Release date: February 13, 2020
Elements on the design: a mother and a pup of Samoa flying foxes;
Total Mintage: 498,000,000
- Weir Farm National Historic Site in Connecticut
Site established on: October 31, 1990
Release date: April 6, 2020
Elements on the design: an artist painting in Weir Farm;
Total Mintage: 280,600,000
- Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Site established on: February 24, 1992
Release date: June 1, 2020
Elements on the design: a red mangrove tree;
Total Mintage: 1,092,800,000
- Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Vermont
Site established on: August 26, 1992
Release date: August 31, 2020
Elements on the design: a young girl planting a Norway Spruce seedling;
Total Mintage: 650,400,000
- Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas
Site established on: November 12, 1996
Release date: November 16, 2020
Elements on the design: a regal fritillary butterfly flying over big bluestem grass;
Total Mintage: 245,600,000
- Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Alabama
Site established on: November 6, 1998
Release date: January 4, 2021
Elements on the design: a Tuskegee airman buckling his helmet with two P-51 Mustangs flying in the background, with the inscription “THEY FOUGHT TWO WARS” above;
Total Mintage: 464,400,000
Pictures source: Wikipedia
FAQs
-
How many America the Beautiful quarters are there?
There are 56 America the Beautiful quarters, each one honoring a national park, forest, or historic site from each state, territory, and the District of Columbia.
-
What mint mark is on the America The Beautiful quarter dollar coins?
All circulating ATB quarter coins bear the mint mark of either the Denver Mint (D) or Philadelphia Mint (P). Coins struck in 2019 or 2020 can also bear the mint mark of West Point (W). Some proof sets from 2010 and 2011 carry the mint mark of the San Francisco Mint (S).
-
Are America the Beautiful quarters worth anything?
Although the National Park quarter coins are appealing in terms of coin collecting, currently, regular strikes from the America the Beautiful quarter program shouldn’t be worth more than their face value because they are just too common. Proof silver coin versions and silver bullion versions of these coins are valued in accordance with the silver spot price.
-
How many different American quarters are there?
The U.S. Mint has used more than 120 different obverse or reverse designs for the American quarter since its first official release in 1796. The list includes the Draped Bust, Capped Bust, Seated Liberty, Barber, Standing Liberty, Washington Quarter, the Bicentennial Commemorative quarter, 50 from the 50 State quarter program, 6 from the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories quarters, and 56 more from the National Parks quarters.
-
How do you get America the Beautiful Quarters?
Because these coins are not so rare, they are not really difficult to find in your pocket change. There is a chance you can find them at banks or other financial institutions as well. If you are a coin collector looking for the most convenient way to complete your collection of clad coins, you can purchase them directly from the U.S. Mint. They sell sets of coins from each year. However, if you are looking for silver BU coins, you can buy them from a coin dealer, such as SD Bullion. We have sets of America The Beautiful 5 oz silver coins from a variety of designs and years in our inventory.
