Cumberland Island To Be Featured on New Quarters

‘America the Beautiful’ program to honor national parks, historic sites

9/12/09 Governor Sonny Perdue announced last week that Cumberland Island will be honored in the new United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters program.

“Cumberland Island is one of Georgia’s treasured tourism sites both for its natural beauty and its historical value,” Governor Perdue said. “We are excited to share the Cumberland Island National Seashore with the world as it is honored on the back of U.S. quarters.”

The United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program is a 12-year initiative authorized by Public Law 110-456 — the America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008. The act directs the United States Mint to strike and issue 56 circulating quarters with reverse (tails side) designs emblematic of a national park or other national site in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories — Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Approximately every 10 weeks, a new design will be released with a national site depicted on the reverse of the quarter.

Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner approved the Georgia site on August 25 after receiving input from Governor Perdue and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.

“Cumberland Island is a true gem among Georgia’s barrier islands,” said Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Chris Clark. “With its wide salt marshes, pristine maritime forests and undeveloped beaches, Cumberland adds immeasurable value to the state’s coastal resources.”

The quarters will be issued sequentially each year, in the order in which the featured site was first established as a national park or site. The coins’ obverse (heads) will feature the familiar “restored” 1932 portrait of George Washington, including the subtle details and beauty of the original model.

The complete National Site Registry, which lists all 56 sites to be honored under the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program in chronological order by year, is available at http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/NSQuartersProgram/?action=siteRegister.

For more information about the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program, please visit http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/NSQuartersProgram/index.cfm .

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