The National Park Quarters will be in their second year with the release of the 2011-dated strikes of the series. Authorized by the America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-456), this series is scheduled to run for eleven years with 2010 serving as the debut year and 2021 offering the last coin in the program.
Five strikes will be issued annually in the series. Those scheduled for 2011 include the Gettysburg National Military Park Quarter, the Glacier National Park Quarter, the Olympic National Park Quarter, the Vicksburg National Military Park Quarter and the Chickasaw National Recreation Area Quarter. These five strikes number six through eleven in the series with the first five issued in 2010.
Shown on the obverse of each strike will be the same design including a portrait of the first President of the United States, George Washington. This portrait was first used on the 1932 circulating quarter dollar and has appeared on the quarter in one form or another ever since. It was designed by John Flanagan.
The reverse of each of the 2011 National Park Quarters will include designs emblematic of the selected sites of national interest. These sites are just five of the fifty-six chosen to be included in the program. The United States Mint has set a schedule for the release of the coins based on the order in which the selected sites came under the direct control of the federal government.
The five 2011 coins will be issued in intervals throughout the year with the Federal Reserve Banks releasing them into circulation. The United States Mint will also hold an official launch ceremony for each strike on a date close to the date in which they enter circulation. Typically, these ceremonies are held at the site which is currently being honored on the quarter.
More information on each of the 2011 National Park Quarters released by the US Mint is offered below: