The United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program is a multi-year initiative to honor 56 national sites in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories—Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands. Under this program, five new reverse (tails side) designs began appearing on the quarter-dollar in 2010 and will continue through 2020. The quarters are being released sequentially in the order in which the featured site was first established (five each year through 2020, with the final design in 2021). All of the coins are legal tender, issued by the United States Mint and available in general circulation.
The 2015 United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters includes the release of the Kisatchie National Forest, Louisiana quarter on April 22nd. Spread across seven parishes in Louisiana, Kisatchie National Forest is divided into five managed units called Ranger Districts that total more than 604,000 acres of public lands. Hidden in the bayous underneath the bald cypress groves and old growth pine lies a world of natural beauty, excitement, learning, recreation, and natural and cultural resources. The name Kisatchie is derived from a tribe of Kichai Indians of the Caddoan Confederacy. It was first established as a national site on June 3, 1930.
The Kisatchie National Forest quarter will be the 27th coin to be released in the United States Mint’s America the Beautiful Quarters Program. A special launch celebration and coin exchange will be held at the Alexandria Riverfront Center on launch day, Wednesday, April 22nd at 10:00am. The coin exchange begins immediately following the quarter launch event, with a one-roll ($10.00) minimum and a 10-roll ($100) maximum. On the evening before the launch event, Tuesday, April 21st, the United States Mint will host a coin forum at Kent Plantation House in Alexandria from 6:00pm to 7:00pm.
The reverse (tails) design features a wild turkey in flight over blue stem grass with long leaf pine in the background. Inscriptions are “Kisatchie,” “Louisiana,” “2015” and “E Pluribus Unum.” The obverse (heads) of the Kisatchie National Forest quarter, as well as all those issued through the program, features the familiar 1932 portrait of George Washington by John Flanagan, restored to bring out subtle details and the beauty of the original model. Inscriptions are “United States Of America,” “Liberty,” “In God We Trust” and “Quarter Dollar.”
Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Kisatchie National Forest. The artists for the reverse side of the coin were designer Susan Gamble and sculptor Joseph Menna. The recommended design was approved by the Department of the Treasury on June 10, 2014.
The United States Mint is offering many different product and subscription options for collectors and coin enthusiasts, including three-coin sets, circulating and uncirculated sets, proof sets, silver proof sets and bags and rolls. For more information, visit www.usmint.gov/catalog. For more information about the American the Beautiful Quarters Program, visit www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/atb/.
