Denali America the Beautiful Quarter

Closing out the 2012 versions of the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program will be the 2012 Denali America the Beautiful Quarter. Accordingly, it will also be the fifteenth strike of the eleven year 56-coin program since it began in 2010.

If previous procedure of the US Mint is any indicator, collectors will now know the final design for the Denali Quarter until early 2012. Design candidates will be released the previous year for comment by the two bodies charged with recommendations, the Citizen’s Coinage Advisory Committee and the United States Commission of Fine Arts, but the Treasury Secretary’s final selection will not be released until shortly before the coin makes it debut.

By the time the Denali National Park Quarter representing Alaska is released in the last part of 2012, four coins will have already preceded it in the year. These include Puerto Rico’s El Yunque National Forest Quarter, New Mexico’s Chaco Culture National Historic Park Quarter, Maine’s Acadia National Park Quarter and the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park Quarter.

Denali National Park in Alaska

Denali is located in the interior of Alaska and literally means “the high one.” This is because the park contains the 20,320 foot Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America. Together with a preserve of the same name, over 9,492 square miles are under the protections of the federal government.

Visitors to the park are treated to some of the most breath-taking scenery and wildlife one can experience. This is not without its own pitfalls, however. Temperature extremes during the summer months can range from 33 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Winter temperatures dip to as low as 40 degrees below zero.

Along with the cold, snow is a constant hindrance in the winter months. Come spring, crews begin the arduous task of clearing the 92-mile park road which can take weeks to accomplish. Only the first 15 miles of the road are open to public vehicles and anyone wishing to go further must do so aboard tour buses. Most do not complain, however, as a majority of the road is not paved and vehicle travel can be tricky on the muddy trail.

Even with its remote location the park hosts an estimated 1.1 million visitors a year.

An interesting side-note, when the park was first created in 1917, only a small portion of the Mount McKinley, not even including its summit, was within the parks boundaries.