The Grand Canyon National Park Quarter was released on August 10, 2010 as the fourth coin of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program. The site is located in the state of Arizona and was federally designated on February 20, 1893.
The reverse design of the coin features a view of the granaries above the Nankoweap Delta in Marble Canyon near the Colorado River. Marble Canyon is the northernmost section of the Grand Canyon. The inscriptions read “Arizona”, “Grand Canyon”, “E Pluribus Unum”, and the date “2010”. The reverse was designed by United States Mint Sculptor–Engraver Phebe Hemphill.
The Denver Mint produced 35,400,000 coins. The Philadelphia Mint produced 34,800,000 coins. Proof and Silver proof coins were produced at the San Francisco Mint.
The National Park Service and the United States Mint hosted an official launch ceremony for the Grand Canyon National Park Quarter on September 21, 2010. The location was at the park’s South Rim, between Hopi House and Verkamp’s Visitor Center.
Steve Martin, Superintendent of the Park said, “The introduction of a Grand Canyon quarter is a momentous occasion in the human story of the park; so we were thrilled when the Nankoweap granaries were chosen as the design for the reverse side.”
The ceremony was well attended by an enthusiastic crows gathered to see the official presentation of the new issue of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program. Attendees were allowed to exchange bills for $10 rolls of the new quarters following the ceremony. Children in attendance received a free quarter to mark the occasion.
Grand Canyon Quarter Mintages
- 2010-D Grand Canyon Quarter: 35,400,000
- 2010-P Grand Canyon Quarter: 34,800,000
Grade Canyon Quarter Specifications
- Designers: John Flanagan (obverse), Phebe Hemphill (reverse)
- Composition: 91.67% copper, 8.33% nickel (clad), 90% silver, 10% copper (silver proof)
- Diameter: 24.26 mm
- Weight: 5.67 grams
- Thickness: 1.75 mm
- Edge: Reeded
About Grand Canyon National Park
There are few places that you can go in the world that will make you feel as small as the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Standing on the edge of the rim of this spectacular canyon, you will see vistas that for some will only have existed in their dreams. Although the Grand Canyon is not the deepest canyon that exists in the world, it is one of the most beautiful, as its immense size and yet intricate, dynamic landscape make it possible to gaze into it for hours at a time.
Although the Grand Canyon was largely ignored by America settlers until after the Civil War, it has always been valued for its geological significance, both in the ancient histories that are depicted in its rocky layers, and the minerals which prospectors have sought to extract from its depths.
After the infamous descent down the Colorado River, accomplished in 1869 by the brave Major John Wesley Powell and his men in rickety wooden boats, Americans began to realize that in addition to being geologically rich, the Grand Canyon provided a chance to experience nature in a way no other area could. Tourists soon began trickling into the Canyon as well, although there were none of the hotels or resorts that can now be found in the area. The Grand Canyon was first protected by the federal government in 1893 as part of the Forest Reserve, then later recognized as a National Monument, and eventually designated as a National Park in 1919.
