This coin is part of the America the Beautiful silver bullion coins (abbreviated ATB) - a series of 56 silver bullion coins with a face value of a quarter dollar. The coins in the series contain 5oz (five troy ounces) of silver, making them the largest silver bullion coins issued to date by the United States Mint. The design of the coins duplicates exactly - though much enlarged - each of the America the Beautiful quarters. They were issued from 2010 to 2021.
All coins in the series feature a common obverse depicting George Washington in a restored version of the portrait created by John Flanagan for the 1932 Washington quarter, while the reverses feature five individual designs for each year of the program (one in 2021), each depicting a national park or national site - one from each state, federal district, and territory.
The Shawnee National Forest quarter design is the first to be released in 2016 and the 31st overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters Program; it was released on 1 February 2016 and represents the state of Illinois.
The Shawnee National Forest hosts the most acreage of any natural area in the state of Illinois. Its large, public open spaces offer many recreation opportunities including big-game hunting, long-distance pedestrian and equestrian trails, orienteering, bird watching, rock-climbing, beach recreation, and two National Scenic Byways: the Ohio River and the Great River Road. The forest also has some of the largest and most diverse blocks of mature hardwoods and forest interior habitats of national forests. An abundance of wetlands, floodplains and riparian areas enhances water quality and provides important wetland habitats for migrating waterfowl in the Mississippi flyway. It was established as a national site in 1939. |