The newest 2010 America the Beautiful Quarter™ is now available to the public. The U.S. Mint began selling the Yosemite National Park Quarter at noon Eastern Time on Monday, July 26. Just like previous new quarter releases, those who are interested can buy circulation quality 100-coin bags and two-roll sets.

2010 Yosemite National Park Quarter Bags and Rolls

The 100-coin bags come in two options, either from the Philadelphia or Denver Mint with the corresponding "P" or "D" mint mark on the quarters. The bags, made of canvas, denote the chosen mint, as well as "Yosemite, CA" and "$25." A premium of $10.95 over the bag’s face value exists, since each bag costs $35.95.

The two-roll sets contain one roll of 40 coins struck at each mint. This totals 80 coins and sells for $32.95, or $12.95 over the face value. Written on the roll’s paper wrappers are the mint, "Yosemite, CA", and "$10."

Yosemite quarter dollar bags and rolls can be ordered directly from the mint’s web site (http://www.usmint.gov/). They are also available through the toll free number, 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Each order will include the standard shipping fee of $4.95.

Featured on the reverse or tails side of the new quarter is an image of El Capitan, one of the most popular cliffs of granite at Yosemite National Park. The design was created by U.S. Mint Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna and sculpted by U.S. Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill. Inscriptions around the image include, "YOSEMITE," "CALIFORNIA," "2010" and "E PLURIBUS UNUM."

President George Washington still graces the obverse or heads side of all of these strikes. The portrait was designed by John Flanagan and has been on American quarters since 1932. These new coins have a restored and digitalized portrait. Inscriptions around the head include, "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "LIBERTY," "QUARTER DOLLAR", the mint mark, and "IN GOD WE TRUST."

The America the Beautiful Quarters Program began earlier this year and is essentially an extension of the popular 50-State Quarters program that ended in 2008, followed by the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories quarter series in 2009. The new sequel honors national interest sites located throughout the country and the U.S. Territories.

In similar fashion, five new strikes will appear each year until the series finishes in 2021. The Yosemite National Park Quarter is the third coin in the program. The next two coins to come in 2010 will be Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona and Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon. The series started with Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. (See 2010 quarters ceremony locations.)

Production figures for the Yellowstone National Park Quarter have been released by the United States Mint and while they indicate a gain over the first America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program strike, they still lag far behind most other recent mintages.

A total of 68.4 million of the circulating Yellowstone coins were produced, with 34.8 million coming from the US Mint’s facility in Denver and 33.6 million from the US Mint’s facility in Philadelphia.

In comparison, the inaugural America the Beautiful Quarter released earlier this year representing Hot Springs National Park came in at 59.6 million total — 29 million from Denver and 30.6 million from Philadelphia. In gross numbers, the Yellowstone National Park Quarter showed an improvement over the Hot Springs Quarter of 8.8 million coins, or a 14.8% increase.

However, it is important to remember that the Hot Springs coin had the lowest mintage of any quarter dollar in decades. In fact, it stands as the quarter with the lowest total number struck since 1955, making any improvement over it "easier."

Of course, the most realistic comparisons can only be made to quarters struck since the start of the 50-State Quarters Program back in 1999. That marked the first time the Mint started issuing quarters of different designs during the same year. It was continued in 2009 with the follow-up D.C. & US Territories Quarters Program which also saw multiple strikes released in the same year.

With that in mind, taking a look at the 2007 Wyoming State Quarter Dollar (representing the same jurisdiction as the newly released Yellowstone Quarter) really puts the low mintage of the newer strike into light. 564.4 million of those coins were produced, or 496 million more than seen for the Yellowstone Quarter. While the 2007 numbers are massive in comparison, it should also be noted that their total mintage only put them in the middle of the pack when compared to other state commemorative coin releases.

The highest mintage seen for a 50-State or D.C. & US Territories Quarter Dollar was the 2000 Virginia coin which totaled an astounding 1,594,616,000.

Recent economic conditions are responsible for the lower number of Yellowstone and Hot Springs quarters. Many people are more likely to use their change during difficult times instead of hoarding it at home. As a result, more coins remain in circulation –local banks order less from the Federal Reserve resulting in the Reserve ordering less from the Mint. Plus, daily transactions are simply down during a recessed economy, further cutting into new quarter demand.

Still, if there is a positive light to be shed on the Yellowstone figures, it is that their scarcity may prove to help their numismatic value. One indicator of collector’s interest in the coins can be seen by the number of 100-coin bags and two-roll sets ordered directly from the US Mint. Shown below is the most recent figures available for the products currently on sale:

The "as of date" for the figures is Sunday, July 4, 2010. The Hot Springs products launched on April 21, 2010, giving it several weeks lead time since the Yellowstone products were released on June 1, 2010.

For comparison, the Northern Mariana Islands bags and rolls numbers are shown below. Readers will note that the figures include 1000-coin bags which the Mint does not offer for the new America the Beautiful Quarters.

The next Yosemite National Park Quarter will be released into circulation on July 26, 2010. The Mint has already started minting them in preparation.

The America the Beautiful Quarters Mintages page has been updated.

The latest United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters™ product sales show the natural decline in weekly levels for sets, bags and rolls. Natural, as it is common for product sales to be at their highest following a launch and then trend lower as the weeks pass.

Eventually, a general baseline is formed where weekly levels move just above or below with a few spikes here and there.

It had seemed that Hot Springs quarters had reached their base, with their 100-coin bags hovering around 200 sales a week and the rolls around 1,000. However, the latest figures show a halving. It could be one of the low spikes. The newer Yellowstone quarter products nearly halved as well. The next round of figures will be telling.

The biggest unit seller continues to be the 2010 Quarters Proof Set. 8,406 were added versus the prior weekly gain of 11,062 which came after 10,359.

The 2010 Quarters Silver Proof Set numbers are following closely. 7,219 more were added compared to the previous 9,711 which came after 13,802.

The weekly sales report of 2010 quarters or United States Mint products containing them are in the tables below. Figures are those provided by the Mint with an effective date of Sunday, June 27, 2010.

The U.S. Mint is asking all to join them on a journey across the United States, according to a press release issued by the Mint which provides the final three ceremonial release dates and locations.

Entitled "See America for a Quarter," the Mint reminds collectors, and the public in general, that the new America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program features sites throughout the country ideal for a vacation destination. The Mint goes so far as to recommend visitors come during one of the US Mint’s release ceremonies for the quarters.

"When we launched the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, we embarked on a journey to reconnect Americans with our beautiful national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and other sites," said United States Mint Director Ed Moy. "We hope families across the country will join us on this journey."

The America the Beautiful Quarters Program is a new 12-year series of circulating quarter dollars issued by the Mint to showcase sites of national interest from around the country. Quarters are issued at a rate of five per year and feature reverse (tails side) designs emblematic of the chosen location.

Release ceremonies have already been held for two of the new America the Beautiful Quarters. The first occurred at Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas on April 20, 2010 with the most recent launch taking place in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming on June 3, 2010.

Three more America the Beautiful Quarters release ceremonies are planned for the remainder of this year and include the following coins at the ideal vacation spots:

• Yosemite National Park Quarter - Ceremony to be held on Thursday, July 29, 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time (PT) at the Valley Visitor’s Center, Yosemite Village Loop, Yosemite, California.

• Grand Canyon National Park Quarter - Ceremony to be held on Tuesday, September 21, 1:00 p.m. (PT) on the grounds adjacent to El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon, Arizona.

• Mount Hood National Forest Quarter- Ceremony to be held on Wednesday, November 17, 10:00 a.m. (PT) at the World Forestry Center, 4033 SW Canyon Road, Portland, Oregon.

Attendees to the ceremonies not only get to take part in a historic event held at a pristine location, they also get the opportunity to obtain newly minted strikes of the featured quarters. Children who attend receive one free quarter as a way to commemorate the event. Adults can exchange cash for rolls of the new strikes.

Additional information (when available) can be obtained through this site or from the US Mint’s website at http://www.usmint.gov.

The United States Mint has introduced a service for businesses and others to purchase new quarter-dollars in volume through the America the Beautiful Quarters Bulk Purchase™ Program.

The program offers the opportunity to buy a bulk bag containing 200,000 same-design quarters from U.S. Mint facilities at Denver or Philadelphia. The cost for the bag is the face value of the coins within, $50,000, plus a 3% processing fee which brings the total up to $51,500.

Why did the Mint create the program? It explains that:

Recent economic conditions have led to an oversupply of prior year-dated quarters in the banking system. As a result, businesses relying solely on the banking system may be unable to obtain large quantities of America the Beautiful Quarters coins on a regular basis. This program provides an option to those interested in obtaining America the Beautiful Quarters in volume.

There are several requirements to place and receive the quarters, including:

• Payment only by bank wire funds transfer
• The Mint will not ship the bags. A buyers must arrange for a "properly licensed commercial carrier" to pick up the coins from the particular Mint facility.
• Additionally, the buyer "must arrange clearance from the United States Mint facility for the truck and driver prior to establishing a pickup date."

The America the Beautiful Quarters Bulk Purchase Program has a couple of interesting facets. Orders may be placed up to one week before a new coin is released into circulation by the Federal Reserve banking system. (See America the Beautiful Quarters release dates.) But more interesting, which can also affect collectors watching quarter mintages, buyers can request previously released quarters that are not longer being shipped from the U.S. Mint to the Federal Reserve Bank. Provided time and resources are available, the Mint will make older coins available, which would bump up mintages. The Mint’s Q&A on the subject (http://usmint.gov/mint_programs/atb/bulk/) states:

Orders for previously released coins will be accepted as long as unassigned inventory exists. The United States Mint may produce additional coins to satisfy orders throughout the year for the first few designs if time and resources permit; however, there is no guarantee, and orders may be refused. As the end of the calendar year approaches, flexibility in supplying previously released quarters diminishes. Additionally, Federal Reserve Bank orders will take precedence over the bulk purchase orders, which may affect the United States Mint’s ability to fill new orders for previously released coins.

The program is obviously designed for larger entities or those with deeper pockets. The average collector is encouraged by the Mint to buy the new America the Beautiful Quarters in greater quantities via its traditional bag and roll products. For any new quarter-dollar release, the Mint offers the buying public:

• Two-Roll Quarter Sets that include 80 circulation strike quarter-dollars, with one roll containing 40 coins with the Philadelphia “P” mint mark and the other roll with the Denver “D” mint mark. The price is $32.95.

• 100-Coin Quarter Bags (P) contain circulation strikes of the quarters minted in Philadelphia. At a $35.95 price, the premiums for each bag is $10.95.

• 100-Coin Quarter Bags (D) contain circulation strikes of the quarter-dollars minted in Denver.

Currently, these smaller quantity rolls and bags are available for the Hot Springs National Park Quarter and the Yellowstone National Park Quarter.

For more information, read the Mint’s press release announcing the bulk program.

The Yellowstone National Park Quarter was released into circulation last week beginning on Tuesday, June 1, 2010, via the Federal Reserve System. On that same date, the United States Mint started offering bags and two-roll sets of the new strikes direct to the public.

2010 Yellowstone National Park Quarter Bags and Two-Roll Set

Initial sales figures for those bags and rolls are now available from the U.S. Mint that track orders from their initial release day of Tuesday through to the following Sunday.

In those few days, a sizable number of Yellowstone strike bags and rolls were purchased, but a bit surprisingly… not as many as the previous America the Beautiful Quarters™ release – the Hot Springs National Park Quarter.

According to the Mint, opening numbers for the Yellowstone Quarter show 2,745,740 strikes sold. Obviously, the coins were not offered individually, but were broken out in the following manner:

Yellowstone National Park Quarter100-coin bag (P)	4,447
Yellowstone National Park Quarter 100-coin bag (D)	4,392
Yellowstone National Park Quarter Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D)	23,273

Looking at the product breakouts closer, fifty-five more 100-coin bags of the Philadelphia quarter-dollars were sold than of those bags featuring strikes from the US Mint’s facility in Denver. As shown by those same numbers, buyers were much more interested in the two-roll sets which features one roll of forty coins from Denver and one roll from Philadelphia.

Collectors are seemingly more interested in the two-roll sets for their collection than obtaining bags of the strikes. Of course, some purchase the bags to sift through the contents, find the best quality examples and send them off to be graded.

For comparison, the initial sales for the Hot Springs National Park Quarter stood at 5,268 of the 100-coin bags from Philadelphia, 4,915 of the 100-coin bags from Denver and 25,983 of the two-roll sets. This equates to 3,096,940 total coins sold, or almost 13% more than the initial days for the Yellowstone Quarter. It should be noted that the comparison is not actually quite fair, however, as the Mint released the Hot Springs Quarter on a Monday adding one day of sales over what the Yellowstone Quarter numbers show.

Both the Hot Springs and the Yellowstone quarters are still available from the Mint. The product listing will be added to on July 26 when the Mint releases the next America the Beautiful strike, the Yosemite National Park Quarter.

Hosted within the park itself in Wyoming, the Yellowstone National Park Quarter was officially launched today at a ceremony attended by several dignitaries including United States Mint Director Ed Moy.

2010 Yellowstone National Park Quarter - Click to Enlarge

Beginning at 10:30 AM (Mountain Time) with a singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner," Master of Ceremonies Park Public Affairs Officer Al Nash greeted all who came to the event despite the less than favorable weather. In fact, the function was moved inside the Old Faithful Lodge Recreation Hall instead of outside the Old Faithful Inn as originally scheduled. With 45 degree weather and drizzle, no one in the crowd seemed to mind the change of venue.

Still just steps from the famous Old Faithful Geyser, Master of Ceremonies Nash introduced the first guest speaker, Gene Bryan, Wyoming Tourism Board Member and then comments were read from Wyoming’s congressional representatives. Up next, historian and author Paul Schullery was called upon to speak a few words about Yellowstone.

Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park Suzanne Lewis spent a few minutes thanking all who were involved in the creation of the Yellowstone National Park Quarter, including the state of Wyoming and the US Mint. She even made reference to the previous 50-State Quarters Program from the Mint which serves as a template for the current American the Beautiful Quarters™ Program.

"We are excited to be able to kick off the summer visitor season with the debut of this quarter," proclaimed Lewis in her statement. "The images depicted on the coin of a bison and Old Faithful offer a sense of the special nature of Yellowstone."

Last to take the stand was Director Ed Moy who spoke of the new quarters program and the design elements involved with them. He also recalled his own fond memories of Yellowstone from his childhood and related how the coins can do the same for others:

"When Americans pull this coin out of their pockets, some will remember fond memories of their family vacation in Yellowstone, others will be inspired to visit Yellowstone to create new memories," commented Moy.

"Many Americans will make the connection to their rich history as a Nation and the extraordinary natural resources of Wyoming."

With the ceremony officially over and the Yellowstone strike unveiled on the stage, all children eighteen and under were given a free new Yellowstone Quarter just for attending the function. Adults (many of which were already in line) queued up to exchange cash for rolls of the new strikes. (The public can purchase bags and quarter rolls directly from the Mint’s online store.)

Now the public will have to wait until the end of July before a new America the Beautiful strike becomes available. That is when the Yosemite National Park Quarter, third in the series, will be released. A ceremony is planned to be held inside the park as well which is located in California.

At noon (Eastern Time) today, the United States Mint released the 2010 United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set™.

2010 United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set

The set is unique for several reasons – most notably for the fact that the coins in the set represent the first five strikes minted under the new America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program. The program only debuted this year and features quarter dollar reverse designs emblematic of selected sites of national interest found throughout the United States and its territories.

Another factor making the set uniquely collectible is that each coin in the set is struck from 90% silver and 10% copper. This is different than the clad cupro-nickel composition found in normal circulating quarters as well as those strikes included in the standard proof and uncirculated coins sets.

In fact, with each individual coin weighing in at 6.250 grams a piece, the entire set contains .904 troy ounces of silver making the set’s intrinsic value alone equal to almost half of the cost of the set (based on today’s silver spot).

The coins included in this set are:

• 2010-S Hot Springs National Park Quarter
• 2010-S Yellowstone National Park Quarter
• 2010-S Yosemite National Park Quarter
• 2010-S Grand Canyon National Park Quarter
• 2010-S Mount Hood National Forest Quarter

These strikes represent sites found in the states of Arkansas, Wyoming, California, Arizona and Oregon, respectively.

Each coin of the set is struck at the US Mint’s facility in San Francisco and thus denotes the appropriate "S" mint mark.

All feature a proof finish which the US Mint describes as "extraordinarily brilliant, with sharp relief and a mirror-like background. Their frosted, sculpted foregrounds give them a special cameo effect."

The set comes housed in a lens to safeguard the coins with the protective assembly packaged inside an illustrated cardboard box. Coins in the set are all struck to proof quality which results in an elevated level of detail and a mirror-like background.

Price on the America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set is $32.95. No order limits are currently in place.

Those interested in obtaining one of the sets can do so directly from the US Mint via their website (click for product page) or using the toll-free ordering number of 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). A shipping charge of $4.95 will be added to each complete order.

Production figures for the Hot Springs National Park Quarters were released today by the United States Mint. With these numbers, collectors and the public have many of their questions answered about the coins which mark the first issues of the America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program.

Launched on April 20, 2010 – the U.S. Mint actually started striking the coins back in March in order to build up enough inventory of the Hot Springs Quarter before they were due to be released into circulation. That month, a total of 42,400,000 quarters were struck, presumably all of the Hot Springs design – 19,000,000 of those struck at the Mint’s facility in Denver and 23,400,000 struck at the Mint’s facility in Philadelphia.

When the April production figures were released, it was widely assumed that the 35,000,000 quarter dollars struck that month were all the Hot Springs coin as well. However, with the preliminary totals for the first quarter of the America the Beautiful Program now available, we know that was not the case.

According to the Mint, the 2010 Hot Springs National Park Quarter only has a total mintage of 59,600,000. 29 million of those were struck in Denver with the remaining 30.6 million struck in Philadelphia.

While to the casual observer, these numbers may seem like quite a bit, the mintage is, in actuality, historically low. In fact, the Hot Springs Quarter marks the lowest mintage of any quarter dollar design in over half a century. One has to go back to 1955 to see that it was the most recent year with a lower total mintage of only 21.36 million quarters.

Interested individuals have to look back almost as far as that to find a year in which a circulation strike also has a lower mintage than the 29 million Hot Springs coins struck in Denver. This occurred in 1959 when the Philadelphia Mint only produced 24.38 million quarter dollars that year.

It is important to keep in mind that the Mint indicates that these are not the final audited numbers for the Hot Springs Quarter. The final official tally will only be announced in January 2011 along with the rest of the 2011 America the Beautiful strike mintages.

What these numbers do tell, though, is that it is going to be extremely difficult for the public to find a lot of these strikes in their pocket-change. This is a bit disappointing as most were looking at the America the Beautiful Program to spark a lot of excitement by the public just like the US Mint’s 50-State Quarters Program did. However, if the general public hardly sees any of the strikes, it will be hard for any momentum to build.

It should be noted that this is not the Mint’s fault. It strikes the circulation quality quarters for use in everyday commerce. With the recent economic downturn, demand for new coinage is much lower than the Mint would typically see.

The America the Beautiful Quarter Mintages page has been updated.

The United States Mint will launch in a ceremony the second coin in their America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program — Wyoming’s Yellowstone quarter, behind Yellowstone National Park’s Old Faithful Inn on June 3, 2010. The event will start at 10:30 AM Mountain Time.

Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (NPS photo of inn)

Following the ceremony, the public can get their hands on the new 25 cent piece. United States Mint Director Edmund Moy will circle the crowd looking for kids 18 years and under to hand out the new coins.Everyone else can stand in line to exchange paper money for $10 quarter rolls of the coins until they run out — usually there is an initial limit, but many times it is possible to pass through the line more than once.

The rolls will contain circulation quality strikes from the Denver Mint. Plus, attendees can have their $10 rolls and event programs canceled by the US Postal Service with a circular date or pictorial stamp.

For those who cannot attend the ceremony but still want Yellowstone quarters, the United States Mint will begin selling them in bags and two-roll sets on June 1. A 100-coin bag will cost $35.95 and the two roll set, consisting of 40 coins minted in Denver and 40 more minted in Philadelphia, will cost $32.95.

2010 Yellowstone National Park Quarter Bags and Two-Roll Set

The Yellowstone National Park Quarter sports a reverse design (tails side) with the famous Old Faithful geyser erupting and the American Bison. Inscriptions include YELLOWSTONE, WYOMING, 2010 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. The coin was designed and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart. The obverse (heads side) of the coin features a restored version of the 1932 John Flanagan portrait of President George Washington.

2010 Yellowstone National Park Quarter - Click to Enlarge

Of course, since the park quarter-dollars will launch into general circulation on the same day as the rolls are issued, one could always wait until they surface in banks and in pocket change. However, getting the coins this way can sometimes be difficult, if not impossible, in certain parts of the country — especially finding them in quantity and from both Mint facilities.

The America the Beautiful Quarters Program celebrates the natural splendor of famous American sites and landscapes. Each year until 2021, the Mint will produce five new quarters that feature a national park or national site for every state and U.S. Territory, and the District of Columbia.

The Arkansas’ Hot Springs National Park quarter was the first quarter in the new series, and it was released into circulation on April 19, 2010. Its ceremonial launch occurred one day later. Three more designs will follow Yellowstone’s National Park quarter this year. They will be California’s Yosemite National Park, Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park, and Oregon’s Mount Hood National Forest.

In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was America’s first official National Park. Today, over three million people visit the park annually. The park is well-known for their active geysers and large variety of wildlife. Many choose to sleep inside the park in one of the many accommodations that range from rustic cabins to luxury suites. The park also hosts five public campsites.