The Smoky Mountain National Park Quarter was released on January 27, 2014. This is the first quarter to be released this year from the series that began in 2010. These quarters represent the different national parks and have a different inscription to represent each national park minted on them. This quarter is number twenty-one out of fifty-six to be released in the series. The U.S. mint has released five coins annually since the collection began.This series debuted in 2010 and will be finished with the release of the fifty-sixth coin in 2021.
The tails or reverse side of the quarter is beautifully designed by Chris Costello and sculpted by Renata Gordon. The inscription reads “GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS, TENNESSEE, 2014 and also E PLURIBUS UNIM”. The photo on the same side displays a scenic mountain view in the distance, a quaint log cabin, a hawk flying overhead, and a wood fence surrounds the property. This image is probably what most think of think of when they hear about a cabin in the mountains.
This quarter honors the national park in Tennessee that received over nine million visitors annually. The Smoky Mountain National Park has been a place that people have treasured for years. At one time it was used for providing materials that would go on to be sold. Because many saw the forest as a lucrative source of supplies people began to fear what type of long term effect that would take on the Smoky Mountain National Park.
Work began on making The Smoky Mountain Forest a national park so that it would be protected from deforestation in the coming years. This process could not progress until a generous donation made by John D. Rockefeller in the form of five million dollars was received. This money helped to insure that the Smoky Mountain Forest would not be misused any longer. With this donation the forest was christened a National park which provided it with the permanent protection it needed.