The Quarter Dollar is a United States coin worth 25 cents. It has been produced on and off since 1796 and consistently since 1831. From its inception until 1964, the denomination was issued in silver; it underwent several design changes, including finally the silver Washington quarter (1932 - 1964) featuring the first President of the United States on the obverse and the American Eagle clutching a bunch of arrows on the reverse. Initially meant as a one-year design to commemorate 200 years since the birth of George Washington in 1932, the obverse became the definitive design for the denomination and has been used ever since. The reverse was issued in this form until 1998, after which time a large number of circulating commemoratives started being issued instead; the State Quarters series of 50 coins featuring each State was issued from 1999 to 2008; in 2009, a six-coin series represented the District of Columbia and five US territories.
The America the Beautiful Quarters Program (abbreviated ATB) running from 2010 until 2021 was then introduced; it is a 56 quarter-dollar coin series featuring designs depicting national parks and other national sites in each state, federal district or territory.
The George Rogers Clark National Historical Park quarter is the fifth to be released in 2017 and the 40th overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters Program; it was released on 13 November 2017 and represents the state of Indiana.
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park was named a National Park in 1966. The park is located within the city limits of Vincennes, Indiana adjacent to the Wabash River. The 26.17-acre site contains the George Rogers Clark Memorial which commemorates the achievements of Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark and his frontiersmen during the American Revolution.
Following Clark’s capture of British posts at Kaskaskia and Cahokia (in the Illinois country along the Mississippi River) in 1778, he led his small contingent of men in a daunting mid-winter march of 157 miles that culminated in the surrender of the British garrison at Fort Sackville on February 25th, 1779. Clark’s daring surprise capture of the fort is considered one of the greatest feats of the American Revolution. The event effectively limited British control of the region and was instrumental in the subsequent establishment of the Northwest Territory and American expansion west of the Appalachians.
The memorial was designed and constructed between 1927 and 1936. It is the largest memorial outside of Washington D.C. and the largest placed on a battlefield within the US. The rotunda boasts seven large murals and a bronze statue of Clark.
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park (Indiana) Quarter Dollars issued in 2017 have now been in circulation for eight years. |