The third 2012 issue of the National Park Quarter series, featuring Acadia National Park in Maine, was released by the U.S. Mint on June 12, 2012. The National Park quarter series of 2010-2021 honors a national park or historic site in each of the 50 states, D.C. and the 5 U.S. territories.
The reverse design of the 2012 Acadia quarter depicts the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse along some of the park’s famed rocky coastline. The obverse bears a smaller restored version of the original George Washington portrait introduced on U.S. quarters in 1932. Add the new Acadia quarters to your collection.
Denali National Park quarter design
On December 8, 2011, the U.S. Mint unveiled the final design for the 2012 Denali National Park Quarter. As the last release of the year, the Denali quarter will feature the majestic Mount McKinley in the background, with a Dall sheep in the foreground.
Located in interior Alaska, Denali National Park is home to the highest mountain in North America, Mount McKinley, which rises 20,320 feet. From its base at 2,000 feet above sea level, Mount McKinley soars 18,000 feet to its peak. Over time, tens of thousands of people have attempted to reach the summit – though only about 50% of those who attempt the climb actually reach the top.
Created by U.S. Mint’s Artistic Infusion Master Designer Susan Gamble, the image of the lofty mountain with the iconic sheep on the reverse was crafted by the mint’s Medallic Sculptor Jim Licaretz. The reverse inscriptions include the name of the site: Denali, the year of issue: 2012 and the motto: e pluribus unum and the state.
This handsome quarter is a perfect match for the 2008 Statehood Quarter, which also featured Alaska, the park’s home state. As 15th in the series overall, the Denali National Park quarter will be the final coin for 2012.
U.S. Mint art for the top contenders for the Denali National Park quarter design
In the fall of 2010, the Citizen’s Coinage Advisory Committee and the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed five designs for the reverse of the 2012 Denali National Park quarter. All five designs featured Mt. McKinley in the background. Four of the five designs showed Dall sheep, and one showed a hiker in the foreground. The iconic Dall sheep played an important part in the park’s founding. When Charles Sheldon explored the region in 1906 as he studied the sheep, he thought this area should be preserved, and his conservation efforts led to the park’s creation.
Home to a wide variety of wildlife, Denali National Park offers miles of scenic landscape and desolate, mountainous terrain. Located in the heart of this national park is Mt. McKinley. It rises 20,320 feet, and is North America’s tallest mountain. From its base at 2,000 feet above sea level, Mount McKinley soars 18,000 feet to its peak, giving it a higher vertical rise (from base to summit), than Mt. Everest, which already sits on a 17,000 foot plateau.
Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park
Nearly as large as the state of Massachusetts, Denali National Park, in south central Alaska, covers over 7,300 square miles and is located 237 miles north of Anchorage, AK and 120 miles south of Fairbanks. Mount McKinley, North America’s highest mountain, rising over 20,000 ft above sea level, is found at the heart of the park.
In 1906, Charles Sheldon first visited the area of what would later become Denali National Park, during the summer months to study Dall sheep. He and his guide, Harry Karstens, who later became the first to climb Mt. McKinley’s south peak and the first park superintendent, returned a second time in 1907 and spent a year. This extended stay convinced the pair that this pristine wilderness needed to be protected. In February 1917, Mount McKinley National Park was established. Because of Sheldon’s efforts to save this area, he is known as the “father of Denali National Park.”
When the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act passed in 1980, it added another 4 million acres to the park and it was renamed Denali, the name Sheldon originally wanted. This spectacular wilderness park will be featured on 2012 National Park quarters – as the final design for the year.
The second 2012 issue of the National Park Quarter series, featuring Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico, was released by the U.S. Mint on April 2, 2012. The National Park quarter series of 2010-2021 honors a national park or historic site in each of the 50 states, D.C. and the 5 U.S. territories.
The reverse design of the 2012 Chaco Culture quarter depicts two kivas (round, subterranean chambers that are thought to have been used for religious ceremonies) of the Chetro Ketl pueblo. The obverse bears a smaller restored version of the original George Washington portrait introduced on U.S. quarters in 1932. Add the new Chaco Culture National Historical Park quarters to your collection today!
