Shawnee National Forest featured on new quarter
<p class="p1">The release of a new quarter which features a Southern Illinois landmark will be commemorated at a special event which is planned in Harrisburg.</p><p class="p3">The United States Mint in 2015 announced the five new reverse (tails side) designs that will appear on the 2016 coins in the America the Beautiful Quarters Program.</p><p class="p3">The 2016 coins honor the Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in Kentucky, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia, Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and Fort Moultrie at Fort Sumter National Monument in South Carolina.</p><p class="p3"><strong>Quarter Launch, Coin Exchange</strong></p><p class="p3">The community is invited to attend a Shawnee National Forest quarter launch and coin exchange event which is planned on Feb. 4 in Harrisburg.</p><p class="p3">The event is set for 10 a.m. in Deaton Gymnasium on the campus of Southeastern Illinois College.</p><p class="p3">The launch and exchange will formally commemorate the release of the 2016 Shawnee National Forest quarter, which is the 31st coin to be released in the United States Mint's America the Beautiful Quarters Program.</p><p class="p3">The coin exchange is slated to begin immediately following the quarter launch event. The exchange features one-roll ($10)/10-roll ($100) maximum.</p><p class="p3"><strong>Coin Forum</strong></p><p class="p3">The United States Mint plans to host a coin forum from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Shawnee National Forest headquarters in Harrisburg.</p><p class="p3">The United States Mint shared the following information about America the Beautiful Quarter which features the Shawnee National Forest:</p><p class="p3">The design depicts a close view of Camel Rock with natural vegetation in the foreground and a red-tailed hawk soaring in the sky overhead. </p><p class="p3">Inscriptions are “SHAWNEE,” “ILLINOIS,” “2016” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.” </p><p class="p3">The reverse was designed by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program, AIP, artist Justin Kunz and will be engraved by United States Mint sculptor-engraver Jim Licaretz.</p><p class="p3">The obverse (heads side) of the coins will continue to feature the familiar 1932 portrait of George Washington by John Flanagan. </p><p class="p3">Required obverse inscriptions are "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "LIBERTY," "IN GOD WE TRUST" and "QUARTER DOLLAR."</p><p class="p3">The United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program is authorized by the America's Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008 (Act) (Public Law 110-456). </p><p class="p3">The act directs the bureau to design, mint and issue quarter-dollar coins emblematic of a national park or other national site in each state, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories. </p><p class="p3">In accordance with the act, the United States Mint is issuing the new quarters at the rate of five per year until 2020 in the order in which each honored site was first established. The final coin is scheduled to be released in 2021.</p>