2016 (P) Shawnee National Forest (Illinois)

This 2016 Shawnee National Forest quarter is minted at the United States Mint at Philadelphia and has never been placed into circulation.

The United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program will feature the 2016 Shawnee National Forest Quarter as its first strike for that year. These coins will also mark the thirty-first in a series of 56 under the program which launched in 2010.

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.

The design depicts a close view of Camel Rock with natural vegetation in the foreground and a red-tailed hawk soaring in the sky overhead. Inscriptions are “SHAWNEE,” “ILLINOIS,” “2016” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”