U.S. Mint art for the top contenders for the Grand Canyon quarter design.
Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, designated a National Forest Reserve in 1893, will be honored on the reverse of the fourth 2010 National Park quarter. In September 2009, both the Commission of Fine Arts and Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee reviewed designs for the reverse of this new commemorative and submitted recommendations to Treasury officials. The Grand Canyon National Park quarter is expected to be released around September of this year.
All four of the proposed 2010 quarter designs feature the Grand Canyon with its dramatic walls and the Colorado River running through it. Nearly 5 million tourists a year visit this 276.5-mile long gorge with its spectacular, colorful landscape. Both the CCAC and CFA favored the proposed quarter showing the canyon-level view of the river, with the steeply rising side walls, over other designs. The Grand Canyon is also on the Arizona statehood quarter, so the goal is to make the National Park series issue look different. But ultimately, the Treasury Secretary makes the final decision about the design for this coin.
The Grand Canyon first came under federal protection in 1893 as a forest reserve, and under Teddy Roosevelt in 1908, it was declared a national monument, eleven years before it became a national park. In 1979, it became a UNESCO World Heritage site. Today, over 4 million visit the Grand Canyon annually and most go to the South Rim area because it’s the most accessible. The new National Park quarter will capture the geological features and rich history associated with Grand Canyon National Park for all collectors.
