The America the Beautiful Quarters Program debuts this year. The first major numismatic product out of the gate to feature the coins will be the 2010 United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set™.
Since the law authorizing the new quarters is relatively new and the US Mint had a substantial amount of "catch up" to do in creating the groundwork for all 56 National Parks and National Sites to be honored from 2010 to 2021, this year’s quarters and related collectors products will get issued much later than typical.
That inherently implies that they will not be around as long, indicating their mintage / sales levels could be greatly affected.
The 2010 Quarters Proof Set will be released on May 13, 2010. In contrast, the 2009 District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Proof Sets was the first numismatic Mint product released last year, launching on January 5, 2009. The 2008 sets were issued on January 30, 2008.
If the Mint plans to get back on schedule, the 2011 set would launch very early next year, leaving the 2010 sets available for only 7-8 months.
The latest set contains all five 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters, which include the:
- 2010-S Hot Springs National Park Quarter
- 2010-S Yellowstone National Park Quarter
- 2010-S Yosemite National Park Quarter
- 2010-S Grand Canyon National Park Quarter
- 2010-S Mount Hood National Forest Quarter
These honor the national parks and site located within Arkansas, Wyoming, California, Arizona and Oregon.
What the quarter-dollars look like is already known, as the Mint released the 2010 quarter images, albeit late, toward the middle of April. The candidate designs were known way back in November.
Like past proof sets, each coin includes the "S" mint mark to denote they were struck at the U.S. Mint in San Francisco. Unlike the the circulating varieties, the proof coins have sharper detail, and a brilliant, mirror-like surface.
The 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set is priced at $14.95 — the same as the 2009 offering which actually includes one more quarter. On May 13 at noon Eastern Time, it may be purchased directly from the Mint website (http://www.usmint.gov/) or by calling the Mint toll-free telephone number 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).
There are no order limits in place. A shipping and handling charge of $4.95 is added to all domestic orders.
Life and times how can you ask these prices?