National Park Quarters Collection
Learn About National Park Quarters
Following the popular 1999-2008 Statehood Quarters program and one-year 2009 D.C. and U.S. Territories Quarters program, the United States Mint began issuing a collection of commemorative quarters with special reverse designs celebrating the history of America's national parks and other national sites.
Issued 2010-2021, this United States quarter collection includes 56 coins honoring a national park or historic site in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. Territories – Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands and Northern Mariana Islands.
Each national park or site was selected for its beauty and natural or historical significance, with the coins released in the order the locations were first designated as U.S. national sites.
Like the Statehood quarters program, the National Park quarters collection was minted and issued at the rate of five new designs per year, in approximately ten-week intervals. Once each scheduled ten-week period of production ended, no more quarters of that design were minted for circulation.
People enjoy the wide variety of designs in this series, which does an excellent job representing the unique beauty of each site. So building a National Park quarter collection is a great way to spend time with your family – whether you're searching together for that missing issue, or using the coins as a fun tool to teach about America’s natural wonders.
| Dates: | 2010-2021 |
| Composition: | Clad, 90% silver & 99.9% silver |
| Weight: | 5.67-6.343 grams (see Composition) |
| Diameter: | 24.3 mm |
| Edge: | Reeded |
| Mints: | Philadelphia (P), Denver (D), San Francisco (S) & West Point (W) |
And with just 56 different designs in the series, assembling a complete United States quarter collection honoring America's beautiful parks and national sites is within the reach of most collectors.
National Park Quarter Designs
Click here to learn about the unique designs of America's National Park Quarters program. Each U.S. quarter in this collection features a beautiful design of each state's park or national site!
National Park Error Coins
Learn about some of the National Park Quarter errors that have become desirable with collectors here. These error coins can be exciting additions to any quarter collection!
National Park Coin Checklist
Print out this handy checklist of America's National Park Quarters collection to help you get started or identify coins missing from your collection.
Composition & Weight of Quarters in This Collection
For most of the series, National Park quarters were issued in the same standard composition as the preceding Statehood, D.C. and U.S. Territories quarters.
Uncirculated coins made from a copper-nickel alloy were issued by the Philadelphia and Denver Mints, while both clad and 90% silver Proofs were struck in San Francisco. In 2019, the composition of silver Proofs was changed to 99.9% pure silver. From 2012 to date, Uncirculated versions of the clad quarters were also issued by the San Francisco Mint, struck for collectors only. In 2019 and 2020, quarters were also minted at West Point and placed into circulation to boost public excitement in the series.
Measuring 24.3 mm in diameter, each clad piece weighs 5.67 grams, while the 90% silver Proofs weigh in at 6.25 grams and 99.9% silver Proofs weigh 6.343 grams..
Ways to Collect
If you're just beginning to build your National Park quarter collection, it may be fun to start rooting around in your pocket change and seeing what you can find. This is a great way to get started. But with so many designs, it can be difficult to find some of the sites or scarcer mint marks.
To build a quality quarter collection, it is best to purchase graded coins from a trusted dealer.
For the easiest way to build your quarter collection, consider joining Littleton's popular Washington Quarter Club. Each month you’ll receive a selection of quarters for a 15-day examination period in your own home, risk free. You’ll build a complete Washington quarter collection, including every issue of both the Statehood and National Park quarters series.
If you discover any coins you like, purchasing them is simple – and if not, you can simply return them. This is a convenient way to see and handle the quarters before you buy, and a great introduction to National Park quarters for a new collector.
Storage and Display
A complete year set of National Park quarters will contain 56 coins. A complete date and mint mark National Parks quarter collection includes 240 coins, not including any special West Point Mint issues. So it’s important to consider your options for storage and display!
There are several ways to store your National Park quarter collection. For the first-time collector, a National Park Quarter Map Folder may be the simplest option.
You can also select an easy-to-use National Park Quarter Display Folder that has predetermined spots for each site. Pairing a display folder with our coin checklist makes it even easier to complete your collection!
However, these folders only hold one coin for each site. So if you're planning on creating a complete collection, these National Park Quarter Albums may be a better option, with places for Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco issues.
Storage is incredibly important – you worked hard on your collection, and it deserves to be beautifully displayed!
Find out more about caring for your coins.
