Over 1300 schoolchildren, dignitaries and coin collectors attended the ceremony as the United States Mint and park officials introduced the quarter Thursday at Southeastern Illinois College in Harrisburg.
After the ceremony, kids got a new Shawnee quarter for free, and adults purchased ten-dollar coin rolls. Over $25,000 in quarters were exchanged with help from Banterra Bank.
The Southern Illinoisan reports that members of Shawnee Native American tribes also attended.
The coin displays Camel Rock and a red-tailed hawk flying in the sky. It is part of the U.S. Mint's America the Beautiful series.The Shawnee quarter is the 31st of a planned 56 coins featuring America's national parks and other national sites. The series began releases in 2010.
The 290,000 acres of land along the Ohio River was designated a national forest in 1939.
On the Net:
Click HERE to read more on this storyUS Mint's Shawnee Quarter webpage
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