2017 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set

The 2017 United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set™ will be issued by the US Mint containing 90% silver proof quality examples of the circulating quarter dollars issued that year.

Those quarter dollars are part of the Mint’s America the Beautiful Quarters® Program which debuted in 2010 and features five new quarter dollars per year with reverse designs emblematic of selected sites of national interest from around the United States and its territories. The program is scheduled to be completed in 2021 at which time a total of fifty six new quarter dollars will have been issued as part of it.

Coins included in this silver proof set represent the eighth year for the series which are typically struck from a clad composition for circulation. However, these particular 2017 America the Beautiful Quarters® included in this set are struck from 90% silver to proof quality at the US Mint’s facility in San Francisco. The five 2017 quarters are emblematic of the following locations:

• Effigy Mounds National Monument of Iowa
• Frederick Douglass National Historic Site of the District of Columbia
• Ozark National Scenic Riverways of Missouri
• Ellis Island National Monument of New Jersey
• George Rogers Clark National Historical Park of Indiana

All totaled, the five coins included in the silver proof set total 0.904 ounces of silver which gives each set an melt value approximately equal to that amount of silver on the market. While the intrinsic value is of interest as it relates to the set, most do not purchase these coins for their silver melt value. Instead, they are more interested in adding these coins to their collection.

As with all of the America the Beautiful Quarters, the obverse of each of these strikes contains a portrait of George Washington, the first President of the United States. This same portrait has been in use on the quarter dollar in one form or another since 1932 and was originally designed by John Flanagan.

The reverse of the strikes is reserved for the designs emblematic of the honored locations. Some additional information on these quarters and the sites they honor is offered below:

2017-S Effigy Mounds Quarter

Effigy Mounds National Monument is located in the state of Iowa. Preserved within the monuments borders are over 200 prehistoric mounds created by the Native Americans of the region. These Native Americans created such mounds as far back as 500 B.C. and continued to do so up until around the time of the first contact with European Settlers.

Of the aforementioned 200-plus mounds, 31 of them are considered effigies. This indicates that the mounds were created in the shape of creatures such as amphibians, birds, etc. Effigy Mounds is the largest known concentration of mounds in the United States and was officially established on October 25, 1949.

2017-S Frederick Douglass Quarter

The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site is located in the District of Columbia and preserves the home and estate of noted 19th century individual Frederick Douglass. The site was created as a national historic site in 1988.

Frederick Douglass was born a slave, but spent most of his adult life working for the freedom of others. This applied to not only other African American slaves, but also to women and recent immigrants. His oratory skills were said to be amazing and he also wrote several books deemed quite noteworthy.

2017-S Ozark Quarter

Found in the state of Missouri, the Ozark National Scenic Riverways was established by an Act of Congress in 1964 with its formal dedication held in 1971. Included in the 80,000 acres of the park are the Current and Jack Fork Rivers which provide many water-related recreational activities within the parks boundaries.

In fact, the park service touts the rivers as the best float streams in America which makes them ideal for activities like tubing and canoeing. The rivers are fed by some of the nation’s largest springs and are know for their clear waters.

2017-S Ellis Island Quarter

Ellis Island National Monument represents the state of New Jersey and preserves the location where millions of immigrant Americans first stepped foot on American soil. On October 15, 1965, Ellis Island became a part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument who has operated a immigration museum on the island since 1990.

Ellis Island remains important to American history as an estimated one third of all current US citizens can trace their ancestry through the immigration station. From 1892-1954, an estimated 10.5 million immigrants passed through the halls of Ellis Island.

2017-S George Rogers Clark Quarter

George Rogers Clark National Historic Park is located in the state of Indiana and came under the direct control of the federal government in 1966. However, construction on the memorial actually started thirty years earlier by the state of Indiana to mark the 150th anniversary of the important contributions Clark made to the history of the United States.

George Rogers Clark was sent by the state of Virginia along with other soldiers to protect the colonies interests in the Old Northwest. He successfully defeated British forces in several forts including Fort Sackville, where this memorial is believed to be located.

2017 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set Specifications