2017-D United States 25-Cent National Parks: George Rogers Clark Brilliant Uncirculated Coin

2017-D United States 25-Cent National Parks: George Rogers Clark Brilliant Uncirculated Coin

Face Value: 25 cents
Mintage: N/A
Composition: 91.67% Copper, 8.33% Nickel
Weight (g): 5.67
Diameter (mm): 24.26
Finish: BU

In 2010, the United States Mint began issuing 56 quarter-dollar coins featuring designs depicting national parks and other national sites as part of the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program.

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.

Obverse design:
John Flanagan's portrait of George Washington (modified by William Cousins) is featured on the obverse. Also seen are the inscriptions "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "QUARTER DOLLAR," "LIBERTY", "IN GOD WE TRUST" and the mintmark.

Reverse design:
The design features George Rogers Clark leading his men through the flooded plains approaching Fort Sackville. Inscriptions are "GEORGE ROGERS CLARK," "INDIANA," "2017" and "E PLURIBUS UNUM." This reverse was designed by AIP Designer Frank Morris and sculpted by Mint Sculptor-Engraver Michael Gaudioso.