Another year of the United States Mint’s America the Beautiful Quarters® Program comes to a close with the newly released Fort Moultrie quarter. The coin’s reverse commemorates the fort which is a part of Fort Sumter National Monument in South Carolina.
Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco Mint-struck quarters with the new design are now available. Buyers have the option of which production facility(s) they would like their quarters to be from in quantities from 40-coin rolls to 100-coin bags.
Designs on Fort Moultrie Quarters
A field of seven design candidates for the quarter’s reverse (tails side) competed against each other. The winning design is by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) Artist Richard Scott.
The artistry depicts Sergeant William Jasper returning the regimental flag to the ramparts while under attack from a British ship.
Inscriptions around the battle scene read FORT MOULTRIE, SOUTH CAROLINA, 2016, and E PLURIBUS UNUM. United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna rendered Scott’s artwork for use on coins.
The following B-roll video by the U.S. Mint offers some background footage of the coin’s design and production.
All quarters bear the same basic obverse (heads side) effigy of George Washington. The likeness of the first President of the United States was originally designed by John Flanagan.
Mintmarks of ‘P’, ‘D’ or ‘S’ are also on obverses, corresponding to production facilities of Philadelphia, Denver or San Francisco.
Quarter Products
This table lists the newly available products and their prices:
| Quarter Product | US Mint Production Facility | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 40-coin rolls | San Francisco | $18.95 |
| Two-roll sets | 40 Philadelphia & 40 Denver coins | $32.95 |
| Three-roll sets | San Francisco, Philadelphia, & Denver | $46.95 |
| 100-coin bags | San Francisco | $34.95 |
| 100-coin bags | Philadelphia | $34.95 |
| 100-coin bags | Denver | $34.95 |
Exclusivity of S-Mint Quarters
Philadelphia and Denver produced quarters are also released into general circulation. Those produced in San Francisco, however, are only issued for numismatic purposes such as these rolls and bags.
Ordering, Coin Forum, Ceremony and Coin Exchange
Visit the U.S. Mint’s online store, found here, to buy new quarters. Call 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468) to order them by phone.
The U.S. Mint will host a coin forum on Wednesday, Nov. 16, and ceremoniously release the new quarter on Thursday, Nov. 17. There is a coin exchange right after the ceremony where the public can swap cash for rolls of the new quarter. This article offers information about the events.
2016 Releases
With this Fort Moultrie quarter, the seventh year in the America the Beautiful series ends. Since its debut in 2010, a total of thirty-five different quarters have been released at a rate of five per year. Each honors a different site of national interest. The series is scheduled to conclude in 2021 at which time fifty-six unique designs will have been issued.
Previous 2016 quarters honor Shawnee National Forest of Illinois, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park of Kentucky, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park of West Virginia and Theodore Roosevelt National Park of North Dakota.
These are circulation-quality quarters – the same as those made for circulation. The coins in the rolls have been spun around in a counting machine & the quarters are just thrown in the bags, therefore they have scratches. They are just good enough to put in albums for kids or beginners.
-NumisDudeTX
It would be nice if the United States mint would do the same as the RCM and hold a coin exchange program. Bring in old circulation coins and receive new circulation coins instead. Great way to bring in the kids.
Seth – point well-taken, however this big kid here saves the shiny new quarters from his pocket change and puts them into a jar – even though these are ‘circulation-quality.’ (Well…coins are FUN!)
Eventually these coins will likely find their way into a coin album and into a kid’s hands,with the extras ending up being released into circulation.
Mammoth –
Good way to save money for sure! And you might find an error quarter looking through them.
Happy collecting!
-NumisDudeTX
Set & Mammoth, I envy your sirit I have buckets of shiny new state & ATB quarters, spend them now no kids care, @ my son’s elementary school I gave a coin info session & free ATB 25c & new Buffalo nickels, 1 kid had real % the rest could not wait to get out their phones (3rd grade!) Mint & ANA needs to work on some coin game AQPP asap…I wish I had a clue…….collect PokemAn go what about collect 1916-d 10c somewhere’33 $20’s @ salad bar….crossover!!
Could you give me more information on the flag?
My friends and I have been on the look-out for the Fort Moultrie quarter ever since November 2016. I travel from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach every 2 weeks and not seen one yet and here it is April 2017. I even have the Effigy Mounds quarter for Iowa.
I find this quarter a bit hard to read, even with a glass. Some of the other illustrations, especially one, showing a closeup of a soldier, waist up, to me would have gotten the idea across better… or perhaps a scene of the fort itself. A quick glance makes it appear as if the soldier is in diapers