The America the Beautiful quarters (sometimes abbreviated ATB quarters) were a series of fifty-six 25-cent pieces (quarters) issued by the United States Mint, which began in 2010 and lasted until 2021.^[1] The obverse (front) of all the coins depicts George Washington in a modified version of the portrait used for the original 1932 Washington quarter.^[2] There were five new reverse (back) designs each year (one in 2021), each commemorating a national natural or historic site such as national parks, national historic sites, or national forests – one from each state, the federal district, and each territory. The program was authorized by the America's Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008 (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 110–456 (text) (PDF).

Coin designs

Quarters were issued with reverse designs commemorating national parks and sites in the order of which that park or site was deemed a national site.^[3] The quarters from three states depict parks or sites that were previously portrayed on the state quarters (Grand Canyon in Arizona, Yosemite in California, and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota). While they depict the same sites, they bear new designs.^[3]

Privy mark

In 2020, the obverses of the quarters struck at West Point also include a privy mark. The privy design features the text "V75", celebrating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II inside an outline of the Rainbow Pool at the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.^[4]

Mint marks

Over the course of the series, four mint marks were used on the America the Beautiful quarters. Quarters produced at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints feature the P and D mint marks respectively.

In 2010 and 2011, the San Francisco Mint (S mint mark) produced quarters exclusively for the annual Proof Set. In 2012, San Francisco started producing America the Beautiful quarters in the standard circulation finish of the P and D quarters for sale to collectors.^[5]

On April 2, 2019, the United States Mint announced that the West Point Mint would release 10,000,000 quarters (2,000,000 of each design released that year) with the "W" mint mark.^[6] This was the first time the mint mark appeared on a circulating coin. The quarters were mixed into uncirculated bags and rolls of the quarters to stimulate public interest in coin collecting.

List of designs

Year	No.	Jurisdiction	Site	Design	Elements depicted	Release date[7] (national site date)	Mintage[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
							Denver	Philadelphia	West Point	Total
2010	1	Arkansas	Hot Springs National Park		The park headquarters building with a thermal fountain in front of it	April 19, 2010 (April 20, 1832)	34,000,000	35,600,000	—	69,600,000
	2	Wyoming	Yellowstone National Park		A bison and Old Faithful	June 1, 2010 (March 1, 1872)	34,800,000	33,600,000	—	68,400,000
	3	California	Yosemite National Park		El Capitan	July 26, 2010 (October 1, 1890)	35,000,000	35,000,000	—	70,000,000
	4	Arizona	Grand Canyon National Park		Marble Canyon	September 20, 2010 (February 20, 1893)	35,400,000	34,800,000	—	70,200,000
	5	Oregon	Mount Hood National Forest		Lost Lake with Mount Hood in the distance	November 15, 2010 (September 28, 1893)	34,400,000	34,400,000	—	68,800,000
2011	6	Pennsylvania	Gettysburg National Military Park		The 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument	January 24, 2011 (February 11, 1895)	30,400,000	30,800,000	—	61,200,000
	7	Montana	Glacier National Park		A mountain goat with Reynolds Mountain in the distance	April 4, 2011 (February 22, 1897)	31,200,000	30,400,000	—	61,600,000
	8	Washington	Olympic National Park		A Roosevelt elk at the Hoh River with Mount Olympus in the distance	June 13, 2011 (February 22, 1897)	30,500,000	30,500,000	—	61,000,000
	9	Mississippi	Vicksburg National Military Park		The USS Cairo on the Yazoo River	August 29, 2011 (February 21, 1899)	33,400,000	30,800,000	—	64,200,000
	10	Oklahoma	Chickasaw National Recreation Area		The Lincoln Bridge	November 14, 2011 (July 1, 1902)	69,400,000	73,800,000	—	143,200,000
2012	11	Puerto Rico	El Yunque National Forest		A Puerto Rican amazon and a common coquí	January 23, 2012 (January 17, 1903)	25,000,000	25,800,000	—	50,800,000
	12	New Mexico	Chaco Culture National Historical Park		Two elevated kivas that are part of the Chetro Ketl complex	April 2, 2012 (March 11, 1907)	22,000,000	22,000,000	—	44,000,000
	13	Maine	Acadia National Park		The Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse	June 11, 2012 (July 8, 1916)	21,606,000	24,800,000	—	46,406,000
	14	Hawaii	Hawaii Volcanoes National Park		Kīlauea	August 27, 2012 (August 1, 1916)	78,600,000	46,200,000	—	124,800,000
	15	Alaska	Denali National Park and Preserve		A Dall sheep with Denali in the background	November 5, 2012 (February 26, 1917)	166,600,000	135,400,000	—	302,000,000
2013	16	New Hampshire	White Mountain National Forest		Mount Chocorua with birch trees in the foreground	January 28, 2013 (May 16, 1918)	107,600,000	68,800,000	—	176,400,000
	17	Ohio	Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial		The statue of Oliver Hazard Perry and the International Peace Memorial column	April 1, 2013 (March 3, 1919)	55,000,000	45,000,000	—	100,000,000
	18	Nevada	Great Basin National Park		A bristlecone pine	June 10, 2013 (January 24, 1922)	141,400,000	122,400,000	—	263,800,000
	19	Maryland	Fort McHenry National Monument		Fort McHenry under bombardment	August 26, 2013 (March 3, 1925)	151,400,000	120,000,000	—	271,400,000
	20	South Dakota	Mount Rushmore National Memorial		Workers carving the Mount Rushmore National Memorial	November 4, 2013 (March 3, 1925)	272,400,000	231,800,000	—	504,200,000
2014	21	Tennessee	Great Smoky Mountains National Park		A log cabin in the forest with a hawk in flight	January 27, 2014 (May 22, 1926)	99,400,000	73,200,000	—	172,600,000
	22	Virginia	Shenandoah National Park		A hiker at the summit of Stony Man Trail	March 31, 2014 (May 22, 1926)	197,800,000	112,800,000	—	310,600,000
	23	Utah	Arches National Park		Delicate Arch with the La Sal Mountains in the distance	June 9, 2014 (April 12, 1929)	251,400,000	214,200,000	—	465,600,000
	24	Colorado	Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve		A father and son playing on the banks of a creek, with sand dunes and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the background	August 25, 2014 (March 17, 1932)	171,800,000	159,600,000	—	331,400,000
	25	Florida	Everglades National Park		An anhinga on a willow, and a roseate spoonbill wading in the water	November 3, 2014 (May 30, 1934)	142,400,000	157,601,000	—	300,001,200
2015	26	Nebraska	Homestead National Historical Park		A log cabin, two ears of corn, and a water pump, representing shelter, food, and water	February 9, 2015 (March 19, 1936)	248,600,000	214,400,000	—	463,000,000
	27	Louisiana	Kisatchie National Forest		A wild turkey in flight over bluestem grass, with long leaf pines in the background	April 13, 2015 (June 3, 1936)	379,600,000	397,200,000	—	776,800,000
	28	North Carolina	Blue Ridge Parkway		A short stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway, with flowering dogwood in the foreground	June 8, 2015 (June 30, 1936)	505,200,000	325,616,000	—	830,816,000
	29	Delaware	Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge		A great blue heron, with a great egret behind it, in a salt marsh	September 14, 2015 (June 22, 1937)	206,400,000	275,000,000	—	481,400,000
	30	New York	Saratoga National Historical Park		A close-up of John Burgoyne surrendering his sword to Horatio Gates	November 16, 2015 (June 1, 1938)	215,800,000	223,000,000	—	438,800,000
2016	31	Illinois	Shawnee National Forest		Camel Rock and natural vegetation with a red-tailed hawk overhead	February 1, 2016 (September 6, 1939)	151,800,000	155,600,000	—	307,400,000
	32	Kentucky	Cumberland Gap National Historical Park		A frontiersman gazing across the Cumberland Mountains to the West	April 4, 2016 (June 11, 1940)	223,200,000	215,400,000	—	438,600,000
	33	West Virginia	Harpers Ferry National Historical Park		John Brown's Fort	June 6, 2016 (June 30, 1944)	424,000,000	434,630,000	—	858,630,000
	34	North Dakota	Theodore Roosevelt National Park		Theodore Roosevelt on horseback near the Little Missouri River	August 29, 2016 (February 25, 1946)	223,200,000	231,600,000	—	454,800,000
	35	South Carolina	Fort Moultrie (Fort Sumter National Monument)		William Jasper returning the regimental flag to the ramparts of Fort Moultrie	November 14, 2016 (April 28, 1948)	142,200,000	154,400,000	—	296,600,000
2017	36	Iowa	Effigy Mounds National Monument		An aerial view of effigy mounds in the Marching Bear Group	February 6, 2017 (October 25, 1949)	210,800,000	271,200,000	—	482,000,000
	37	District of Columbia	Frederick Douglass National Historic Site		Frederick Douglass seated at a writing desk with his home in the background	April 3, 2017 (September 5, 1962)	185,800,000	184,800,000	—	370,600,000
	38	Missouri	Ozark National Scenic Riverways		Alley Mill	June 5, 2017 (August 27, 1964)	200,000,000	203,000,000	—	403,000,000
	39	New Jersey	Ellis Island (Statue of Liberty National Monument)		An immigrant family approaching Ellis Island	August 28, 2017 (May 11, 1965)	254,000,000	234,000,000	—	488,000,000
	40	Indiana	George Rogers Clark National Historical Park		George Rogers Clark leading his men through the flooded plains approaching Fort Sackville	November 13, 2017 (July 23, 1966)	180,800,000	196,600,000	—	377,400,000
2018	41	Michigan	Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore		Chapel Rock, with a white pine tree	February 5, 2018 (October 15, 1966)	182,600,000	186,714,000	—	369,314,000
	42	Wisconsin	Apostle Islands National Lakeshore		Devils Island, with sea caves and the Devils Island Lighthouse, and a kayaker in the foreground	April 9, 2018 (September 26, 1970)	216,600,000	223,200,000	—	439,800,000
	43	Minnesota	Voyageurs National Park		A common loon, with a rock cliff in the background	June 11, 2018 (January 8, 1971)	197,800,000	237,400,000	—	435,200,000
	44	Georgia	Cumberland Island National Seashore		A snowy egret, with a salt marsh in the background	August 27, 2018 (October 23, 1972)	151,600,000	138,000,000	—	289,600,000
	45	Rhode Island	Block Island National Wildlife Refuge		A black-crowned night heron flying over Cow Cove beach, with the North Lighthouse in the background	November 13, 2018 (April 12, 1973)	159,600,000	159,600,000	—	319,200,000
2019	46	Massachusetts	Lowell National Historical Park		A mill girl working at a power loom, with the Boott Mills clock tower outside the window	February 4, 2019 (June 5, 1978)	182,200,000	165,800,000	2,000,000[15]	350,000,000
	47	Northern Mariana Islands	American Memorial Park		A young Chamorro woman at the Flag Circle and Court of Honor	April 1, 2019 (August 18, 1978)	182,600,000	142,800,000	2,000,000[15]	327,400,000
	48	Guam	War in the Pacific National Historical Park		American forces coming ashore during the Second Battle of Guam	June 3, 2019 (August 18, 1978)	114,400,000	116,600,000	2,000,000[15]	233,000,000
	49	Texas	San Antonio Missions National Historical Park		In the angles of a Greek cross, the elements of the Spanish colonial real coin: arches and a bell of the Mission San Francisco de la Espada bell tower, a lion, waves, and wheat	August 26, 2019 (official release date) before August 20, 2019 (accidental release)[16] (November 10, 1978)	129,400,000	142,800,000	2,000,000[15]	274,200,000
	50	Idaho	Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness		A drift boat on the Salmon River, with the wilderness in the background	November 4, 2019 (official release date) before October 29, 2019 (accidental release)[17] (July 23, 1980)	251,600,000	223,400,000	2,000,000[15]	475,000,000
2020	51	American Samoa	National Park of American Samoa		Samoa flying fox mother and pup	February 13, 2020 (October 31, 1988)	212,200,000	286,000,000	2,000,000[18]	498,000,000
	52	Connecticut	Weir Farm National Historic Site		Artist painting outside Weir Farm	April 6, 2020 (October 31, 1990)	155,000,000	125,600,000	2,000,000[18]	280,600,000
	53	U.S. Virgin Islands	Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve		Young red mangrove tree	June 1, 2020 (February 24, 1992)	515,000,000	580,200,000	2,000,000[18]	1,095,200,000[19]
	54	Vermont	Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park		Young girl planting a Norway Spruce seedling	August 31, 2020 (August 26, 1992)	345,800,000	304,600,000	2,000,000[18]	650,400,000
	55	Kansas	Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve		Regal fritillary flying through big bluestem grass	November 16, 2020 (November 12, 1996)	142,400,000	101,200,000	2,000,000[18]	245,600,000
2021	56	Alabama	Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site		Tuskegee Airman suiting up with two P-51 Mustangs flying overhead	January 4, 2021 (November 6, 1998)	304,000,000	160,400,000	—	464,400,000

Site breakdown

Of the 56 designs there are

• 48 National Park Service areas
  • 18 National parks
  • 5 National monuments
  • 13 National Historic Sites and National Historical Parks
  • 3 National lakeshores and seashores
  • 1 National recreation area
  • 2 National military parks
  • 3 National memorials
  • 1 National parkway
  • 1 National preserve
  • 1 National river
• 5 National Forests (United States Forest Service)
• 1 Wilderness area, composed of six national forests
• 2 National Wildlife Refuges (United States Fish and Wildlife Service)

Mintage details

Beginning with the El Yunque (Puerto Rico) design in the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, the U.S. Mint began selling (at a premium) uncirculated 40-coin rolls and 100-coin bags of quarters with the San Francisco mint mark.^[20] These coins were not included in the 2012 uncirculated sets or the three-coin ATB quarter sets (which consisted of an uncirculated "P" and "D" and proof "S" specimen) and no "S" mint-marked quarters are being released into circulation, so that mintages will be determined solely by direct demand for the "S" mint-marked coins. As of January 2013 initial United States Mint sales figures indicated that between 1.3 million and 1.6 million of each 2012 design had been struck at the San Francisco mint, close to the announced mintage of 1.4 million for each design. Direct U.S. Mint sale of rolls and bags of uncirculated business strike coins continued with the 2013 America the Beautiful quarter issues, with actual quantities again to be determined by customer orders. The mintages of the uncirculated "S" quarters are considerably lower than that of the "P" and "D" mint-marked coins, and are comparable to the 1996-W Roosevelt Dime (also not issued for circulation), which sells in the neighborhood of $20 each in an average grade. As of 2019, uncirculated "S" quarters can be obtained from dealers for about three-four times their face value.

In 2019 the Mint began to release "W" mintmarked quarters produced at the West Point Mint. Two million of each of the year's five issues, mixed in bags with the common "P" and "D" coins, were scheduled for distribution at various major cities. Intended to increase interest in coin collecting, these products are not available by order from the Mint.^[21]

Also notable are the 2010 satin finish quarters issued only in 2010 mint sets with a low mintage of 583,897, and proof and silver proof issues, some with mintages almost as low as the 2010 satin finish quarters.

There are collector versions of the America the Beautiful 5 ounce Silver Bullion Coin Program which debuted on December 10, 2010. They feature an uncirculated finish and contain a ‘P’ mintmark indicating they were struck at the US Mint's facility in Philadelphia. The bullion coins were also struck in Philadelphia but contain no mintmark. The United States Mint struck these coins late in 2010 with an extremely limited mintage of only 27,000. The Mint apparently had insufficient time to strike more before the end of the year owing to initial production difficulties with both America the Beautiful Five Ounce Coin series. This forced the Mint to only release these Hot Springs Coins the following year on April 28, 2011. Demand was intense in the first hours of availability with collectors ordering 19,000 of them in the first nine hours. Within two weeks, the Mint indicated a sell-out of the limited mintage strikes. Each coin's price is determined by the current value of silver and the 2010 issues sold for $279.95. Many subsequent issues have even lower mintages and higher secondary market values. These 5 oz. silver quarters are the "Big Boys" quarter collection and due to their low mintage, have increased their value over issue price, even in the face of declining silver prices.

Aftermath

The 2008 legislation gave the Treasury Secretary the option of ordering a second round of 56 national parks quarters by 2018, but Steven Mnuchin did not do so. According to the legislation, once the America the Beautiful Quarters Program ended in 2021, the obverse of the quarter reverted to the original Flanagan design used from 1932 until the start of the 50 State Quarter Program. However, the reverse was redesigned to feature General Washington crossing the Delaware River, the same theme that was used on the 1999 New Jersey quarter.^[1] The new quarter was released on April 5, 2021, and was minted for the rest of the year.

With the passage of the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020 (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 116–330 (text) (PDF), the program will be succeeded by the American Women quarters from 2022 to 2025, a series commemorating the United States Semiquincentennial in 2026, and a series depicting youth sports from 2027 to 2030.^[22]

Year map

The following map shows the years in which the selected National Park or site in each jurisdiction was honored.