Last month, we saw the first release for the 2020 America the Beautiful Quarters in the Clad Proof Set. Up next in another release of the quarter dollars is the Silver Proof Set ready to launch tomorrow on February 20th.
With the last five of six quarter dollars from the program being released this year, these quarters will be minted in 99.9 percent silver and packaged in a protective lens. Minted at San Francisco, these quarters have an exceptional finish and are accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.
Each of the five quarters will share the same obverse as they have throughout the series. It will depict the 1932 portrait of George Washington by John Flanagan. The image has been restored to bring out more detail and the beauty of the original work. The following inscriptions also are featured on the obverse: “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “QUARTER DOLLAR.”
The reverse of the 2020 designs will honor the following sites within the United States:
National Park of American Samoa: The design features a Samoan fruit bat mother hanging from a tree with her baby, or pup as they are called. The image itself is to represent the care and energy the species put into nurturing its offspring. The whole design is and was chosen to promote awareness of the species and their threatened status. The National Park of American Samoa is the only site within the United States that the fruit bats call home. Inscriptions featured on this reverse are as follows: “NATIONAL PARK,” “AMERICAN SAMOA,” “2020,” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
Weir Farm National Historic Site in Connecticut: An artist wearing a painter’s smock whilst painting outside Julian Alden Weir’s studio at Weir Farm is depicted on the reverse design. The image itself was inspired by a number of images of the studio and Weir’s paintings that were created on the property. The inscription “A NATIONAL PARK FOR ART” is shown on the lower right of the coin while additional inscriptions read “WEIR FARM,” “CONNECTICUT,” “2020,” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM”.
Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve in the U.S. Virgin Islands: A red mangrove tree in the early start of its life cycle is depicted on this reverse. Evolving from a very small plant into an adult tree, the design is made to bring awareness to the endangered mangrove forests within the park. Inscriptions on the coin read “SALT RIVER BAY,” “U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS,” “2020,” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Vermont: The design on this quarter dollar features a young girl completing the planting of a Norway spruce seedling near an already established tree. The image depicts the continuation of the life cycle of the forest. The child herself symbolizes the conservationist that moves to sustain a forest for the future and its education. Inscriptions of the coin read as follows: “LAND STEWARDSHIP,” “MARSH-BILLINGS-ROCKEFELLER,” “VERMONT,” “2020,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas: This design features an image iconic to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. It depicts an aerial view of a Regal Fritillary butterfly with Big Bluestem and Indian grasses in the background. The inscriptions on the coin read “TALLGRASS PRAIRIE,” “KANSAS,” “2020,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”