2017 America the Beautiful Quarters Circulating Coin Set

Over the year we have looked at each of the America the Beautiful quarter-dollars, as they have been released. This program has now completed its seventh year, with three more to go. It goal is to show a prominent National Park or National Site from each of the 50 states, one from the federal district and one from each of the five major overseas territories.

The series began on April 19, 2010, with Arkansas and the Hot Springs National Park. The order of release is based on the formation date of the National Parks. Since Hot Springs is the oldest, dating back to 1832, it had the honor of launching the series. Each year has seen the release of five more coins, and this series is a great, inexpensive introduction for anyone entering the world of coin collecting. Each park has a fascinating story to tell, and is an introduction to the history and diversity of America.

The progress of 2017 was marked by the release of five more quarters in the series, this year celebrating:

• Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa, showing an aerial view of mounds in the Marching Bear Group.
• Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, depicting the abolitionist seated at a writing desk, with his home in Washington, DC, in the background.
• Ozark National Scenic Riverways, showing Alley Mill, a steel roller mill built on the river in Missouri in 1894.
• Ellis Island, New Jersey (Statue of Liberty National Monument), depicting an immigrant family approaching Ellis Island with a mixture of hope and uncertainty.
• George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, showing the Revolutionary War hero leading his men through the flooded plains approaching Fort Sackville, Indiana.

The US Mint ‘bookends’ the year with an early release of the series as a proof set in January, and the release of a circulation set at the end of the year, which this year was on November 21. The set is officially described as the ‘2017 America the Beautiful Quarters Circulating Coin Set™’, and contains 10 quarters, two of each design, so that both the reverse and obverse can be seen from one side. Five of the quarters come from the Denver Mint, and the other five from the Philadelphia Mint. This is appropriate, since these are the two facilities that make all the circulating coins for the country.

While the proof set has only 5 coins, it does come in a more imposing case, and with supporting literature. The circulation set comes in a simple plastic pouch, which is a new, easy-opening design. This means that the coins can be removed for examination, and replaced. Considering their relatively low cost, one or both sets makes a great ‘stocking stuffer’ for children who have shown an interest in coins, or to spark the interest of a potential future collector.

Come to that, almost all the series is still available, except for 2012 and 2013, so why not break the bank and get them all for that young collector? This could spark a treasure hunt for the missing coins among pocket change, and could be nicely topped off with a New Year present of the 2018 Proof set, which will undoubtedly arrive early in January.