Maine America the Beautiful Quarter

During 2012, the United States Mint will release the Maine America the Beautiful Quarter. This will represent the third release of the series for the year and the thirteenth release of the series overall. America the Beautiful Quarters will be issued from 2010 to 2021 to feature a National Park or National Site in each state, territory, and the District of Columbia.

The site for the upcoming Maine Quarter has been selected as Acadia National Park. In the year leading up to the coin release, design candidates for the reverse design of the quarter will be prepared based on source materials provided by a federal official serving as liaison with the United States Mint. After review by several parties and committees, the Secretary of the Treasury will select the final design from the available candidates.

About Acadia National Park

The eastern cost of the United States has always had an undeniable connection to the very first people European explorers that ever set foot in this country. No matter whether they came seeking fortune or just the quiet protection of a new land where they could practice their beliefs, the ocean was the highway that brought them here.

Once the cities and towns of the early Northeastern towns began to become heavily populated, the well to do residents sought out beautiful locations in more Northern states to which they could travel when they wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The rocky shores and peninsulas of Maine had a particular allure for these vacationers, and many travelled to the pristine areas of Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor and other harbor towns.

As more and more people discovered these beautiful areas, so did the developers and businessmen that sought to build them up. In the early 1900’s some of the more loyal residents became worried that the fast development in this part of the country would destroy the natural state of these areas, and began purchasing and protecting what land they could.

In 1913 the Trustees of Hancock County had acquired 500 acres and asked the federal government to consider making the land into a National Park. Woodrow Wilson agreed in 1916, making Sieur de Monts National Monument a protected area in Maine. Eventually, in 1929, the Schoodic Peninsula was donated to the park and the name was officially changed to Acadia National Park. Today the park is home to some of the most rugged and biologically diverse shoreline in the country.