2012-S Alaska Denali National Park Quarter GEM PROOF America the Beautiful

Denali National Park is located in central Alaska.  Denali National Park is best known for Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America with an elevation of 20,320 feet.  The park also encompasses the large glaciers of the Alaskan Range.  Most visitors tour Denali National Park by riding along the 92 mile park road which is mostly above tree level.   The road winds through the sub-artic terrain and is designed so that the farther you go the more you see.  Along the ride you can observe loons, golden eagles, grizzly and brown bears, sheep, caribou, moose, among many other species.  Denali National Park has an area of 6,075.107 acres.

From 2010 through 2021 the US Mint is issuing commemorative quarters with special reverse designs celebrating National Parks and other National Sites. A park or site is being honored in each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the five US Territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands. Each National Park or National Site was selected for its natural or historical significance. The National Park Quarters are being minted and issued at the rate of 5 designs a year, in approximately ten week intervals. The National Park Quarters are being released in the order that the locations were first designated as National Sites. The Obverse side of the coins feature a smaller restoration of the original Washington Quarter portrait, modeled from designer John Flanagan's 1932 plaster. The Reverse of each coin will feature a representation of the unique character and environment of each State, District, or Territory's National Park or Historic Site.

Circulation strikes will be made at the Philadelphia (P) and Denver (D) mints. The San Francisco (S) mint will strike the Proofs in clad composition and silver. Clad composition strikes contain an outer layer of 75% copper and 25% nickel bonded to an inner core of pure copper with a 24.33 mm diameter, 5.67 grams weight, and a reeded edge. The silver strikes will contain 90% silver and 10% copper with a 24.33 mm diameter, 6.25 grams weight, and a reeded edge.