Candidate Designs for Arches National Park Quarter
Early in 2013, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee reviewed seven candidate designs for the reverse of the 2014 Arches National Park quarter. They awarded a very high score of 28 out of 30 points to a design featuring the iconic Delicate Arch. It’s believed that of all the scenic views found in the park, Delicate Arch is the most photographed.
Meanwhile, the Commission of Fine Arts chose a different view of an arch within the park. Along with their recommendation, the CFA stated that it felt this design best showed the landscape of Arches.
Today, Arches National Park (established in 1929) is home to the highest concentration of naturally occurring stone arches in the world. Visitors are awe-struck by the amazing landscape, which holds over 2,000 cataloged natural arches. The formation of the park began around 100 million years ago, as erosion forces began to wear away at the landscape near present-day Moab, Utah. Under extreme temperatures, water, ice and movement from an underground salt bed (left behind when a prehistoric sea dried up), a series of natural sandstone arches emerged.
All seven designs presented captured the rugged and beautiful landscape found within Arches National Park.
