Vicksburg America the Beautiful Quarter

The 2011 Vicksburg America the Beautiful Quarter is the forth quarter-dollar release in 2011, and the ninth in the U.S. Mint America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. The coin features Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi.

Vicksburg National Military Park Quarter Design MS-01 (Click to Enlarge)

Vicksburg National Military Park Quarter Design MS-02 (Click to Enlarge)

Vicksburg National Military Park Quarter Design MS-03 (Click to Enlarge)

Vicksburg National Military Park Quarter Design MS-04 (Click to Enlarge)

Choosing the final design for the coin’s reverse is a lengthy process. The artwork must represent the essence the park’s heritage and significance. Four "candidate designs" have been created and submitted by the United States Mint to the Citizen’s Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) and the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) for review — two bodies charged with reviewing American coinage designs.

For the Vicksburg coin, the two government groups did not agree on the same design proposals. The CCAC selected MS-02, but the CFA preferred MS-04 .

The CCAC said in their letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner:

"For the coin portraying Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi, the Committee strongly favored design MS-02, which carries an image of the U.S.S. Cairo on the Mississippi River as it would have appeared during the Civil War.  Members felt that this design, in addition to the quality of its composition, has the virtue of showcasing the historical significance of the Navy in the Civil War."

The CFA wrote of its selection, "The Commission supported alternative #4, depicting the entrance arch of the park, while recommending development of a simplified design that emphasizes this iconic feature without the attempt to depict a realistic landscape setting."

The Treasury Secretary is responsible for making the final quarter selection, after receiving recommendations from the U.S. Mint Director.

Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi

The Civil War battle in Vicksburg was very critical by 1863, because the winner controlled the Mississippi River, also known as the “lifeblood of America.” The siege for control lasted 47 long days in the south’s humid summer. Ultimately, the Confederate army surrendered their vital stronghold of the Mississippi River to Major General Ulysses Grant’s Union army.

The National Park commemorates the campaign and siege of Vicksburg, and includes a national cemetery for more than 17,000 graves of Civil War soldiers and a few more from other wars. The park maintains over 1,300 monuments, the restored USS Cairo (a Union ironclad gunboat), a 16 mile tour road and a virtual museum exhibit depicting life during the siege.

Many visitors of the park attend the living history demonstrations, also called Civil War reenactments, in the summer. Veterans marked the battle lines shortly after 1900, making Vicksburg National Military Park one of the most accurately marked military parks in the world, according the government’s National Park Service site.

Headstones, cannons, cast iron tablets and position markers all blanket the well preserved park, and its tour stops and buildings from the war do well to remind a million annual visitors the importance of this sacred place in American history.