The U. S. Mint America the Beautiful (ATB) Quarters Program is a multi-year initiative to honor 56 national parks and other national sites in each state. Five new reverse designs have been released for the quarter coin each year beginning in 2010 and will continue through 2021. The America the Beautiful (ATB) Quarters are legal tender coinage, issued by the United States Mint and available in general circulation.
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park was selected to represent Vermont for the ATB Quarter which was officially released to the public this year. Located in Woodstock, Marsh- Billings-Rockefeller NHP is the only national park dedicated to telling the story of conservation history and the evolving nature of land stewardship in America. It was the boyhood home of George Perkins Marsh, one of America’s first conservationists, and later the home of Frederick Billings. The property was given to the American people by its most recent owners, Laurance S. and Mary French Rockefeller.
The park continues the tradition of active forest management in stewarding this nationally significant landscape in partnership with state and nonprofit organizations, schools and youth groups, forest professionals of a variety of disciplines and trades, and the visiting public.
The design was developed through a competition with a panel of artists commissioned by the U.S. Mint.
The reverse (tails side of the quarter) design depicts a young girl completing the planting of a seedling near an established tree, continuing the life cycle of the forest. The design represents the conservationist, seeking to maintain a sustainable forest for future enjoyment and education. According to Christina Marts, deputy superintendent, “The design of the quarter eloquently captures the park’s mission to cultivate an intergenerational commitment to stewardship. Conservation and stewardship are not concepts that should be left to the history books – they must be ideas that continue to grow and evolve. To build and sustain a sustainable world requires each generation to renew and reinvent its commitment to caring for the special places in our backyards and beyond.”
To celebrate the release of the new quarter, the park partnered with the Vermont Wood Works Council to hold a design competition for a vessel that was to be featured in a release event and was the highlight of a small coin pour ceremony at the park. The winner of the competition, Jesse Dunn of the Birdseye architectural firm, was inspired by a conversation with his children around the kitchen table. His winning design features a large wooden acorn made from wood harvested from the park’s Mount Tom forest and Shelburne Farms, a partner in park educational programs and a National Historic Landmark in Vermont.
The vessel is a highlight in a short video filmed at the park and in the Birdseye workshops that celebrates the coin’s release with area youth.
To encourage youth to explore their own stewardship stories, the park and the U.S. Mint in partnership with Shelburne Farms released a special Junior Ranger booklet chock full of great activities on the many ways each of us can be stewards in the places we care about in our own backyards and communities and beyond. Youth who complete the full booklet can submit their work to receive one of these special quarters. Visit the park website for more information: nps.gov/mabi.
People’s United Bank was selected by the U.S. Mint to serve as the local distribution bank for the new quarters. Those interested in obtaining rolls of these special edition quarters can visit one of the bank’s branches in Woodstock or White River Junction. Rolls and bags of the quarters, and several commemorative items, are also available for purchase on the US Mint online catalogue.
