Sunday, September 13, 2009

Quarter Programs for the Next Decade

I've been a fan of the recently-completed decade-long U.S. State Quarters Program, building my collection the old-fashioned way, by going through my change day after day and year after year.

Only recently I've been apprised of the news of what the United States Mint has in mind for the next ten years, and so thought I  might share it with those lucky enough to read it here.  Even if you are not a coin collector, you might want to take a second look at your change over the next few years, as we are all sure to learn more about America itself.

First, in 2009, the Mint has been and will be releasing quarters honoring the District of Columbia and all five U.S. Territories.  The quarters are being released in this order:
o The District of Columbia
o The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
o Guam
o American Samoa
o The United States Virgin Islands
o The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Then, starting in 2010, the United State Mint will launch the America is Beautiful Quarter Program.   By 2021 56 quarters will celebrate the spectacular preserved scenery of the entire country, and will feature sites from all 50 states, the five territories, and the District of Columbia.  Alas, Kansans, we must wait until 2020 to see our coin!   The release schedule for the 56 quarters is as follows:

Year:    Location - Site - Date Established (m/d/yyyy):

2010     Arkansas  Hot Springs National Park  4/20/1832
             Wyoming  Yellowstone National Park  3/1/1872
             California  Yosemite National Park  10/1/1890
             Arizona Grand Canyon National Park  2/20/1893
             Oregon Mt. Hood National Forest  9/28/1893
2011     Pennsylvania  Gettysburg National Military Park  2/11/1895
             Montana Glacier National Park  2/22/1897
             Washington Olympic National Park  2/22/1897
             Mississippi  Vicksburg National Military Park  2/21/1899
             Oklahoma  Chickasaw National Recreation Area  7/1/1902
2012     Puerto Rico    El Yunque National Forest  1/17/1903
             New Mexico  Chaco Culture National Historical Park   3/11/1907
             Maine   Acadia National Park    7/8/1916
             Hawaii  Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park   8/1/1916
             Alaska   Denali National Park  2/26/1917
2013     New Hampshire  White Mountain National Forest  5/16/1918
             Ohio   Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial    3/3/1919
             Nevada   Great Basin National Park  1/24/1922
             Maryland  Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine  3/3/1925
             South Dakota  Mount Rushmore National Memorial  3/3/1925
2014     Tennessee  Great Smoky Mountains National Park   5/22/1926
             Virginia   Shenandoah National Park  5/22/1926
             Utah    Arches National Park   4/12/1929
             Colorado   Great Sand Dunes National Park  3/17/1932
             Florida  Everglades National Park   5/30/1934
2015     Nebraska Homestead National Monument of America   3/19/1936
             Louisiana  Kisatchie National Forest  6/3/1936
             North Carolina   Blue Ridge Parkway  6/30/1936
             Delaware  Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge   6/22/1937
             New York Saratoga National Historical Park  6/1/1938
2016     Illinois  Shawnee National Forest  9/6/1939
             Kentucky  Cumberland Gap National Historical Park   6/11/1940
             West Virginia  Harpers Ferry National Historical Park  6/30/1944
             North Dakota  Theodore Roosevelt National Park 2/25/1946
             South Carolina  Fort Moultrie (Fort Sumter National Monument)  4/28/1948
2017     Iowa   Effigy Mounds National Monument 10/25/1949
             District of Columbia  Frederick Douglass National Historic Site   9/5/1962
             Missouri    Ozark National Scenic Riverways  8/27/1964
             New Jersey  Ellis Island National Monument (Statue of Liberty)  5/11/1965
             Indiana   George Rogers Clark National Historical Park 7/23/1966
2018     Michigan  Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore  10/15/1966
             Wisconsin  Apostle Islands National Lakeshore   9/26/1970
             Minnesota  Voyageurs National Park  1/8/1971
             Georgia  Cumberland Island National Seashore 10/23/1972
             Rhode Island  Block Island National Wildlife Refuge 4/12/1973
2019     Massachusetts  Lowell National Historical Park   6/5/1978
             Northern Mariana Islands    American Memorial Park  8/18/1978
             Guam  War in the Pacific National Historical Park   8/18/1978
             Texas  San Antonio Missions National Historical Park   11/10/1978
             Idaho   Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness   7/23/1980
2020     American Samoa   National Park of American Samoa  10/31/1988
             Connecticut  Weir Farm National Historic Site 10/31/1990
             U.S. Virgin Islands  Salt River Bay National Historical Park
                                            & Ecological Preserve   2/24/1992
              Vermont  Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park 8/26/1992
              Kansas   Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve  11/12/1996
2021      Alabama  Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site  11/6/1998


For further information, see the United State Mint's formal website at http://www.usmint.gov/.