MEDORA — Two weeks from Thursday, a new U.S. quarter bearing the image of Theodore Roosevelt, the North Dakota Badlands and the Little Missouri River will be put into circulation.
The United States Mint will celebrate the release of its newly minted Theodore Roosevelt National Park coins with an event at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, at the Painted Canyon Visitors Center off Interstate 94 Exit 32 near Medora.
The coins are part of the Mint’s America the Beautiful Quarters program, and one of five designs being released this year. It shows Roosevelt on horseback in the foreground overlooking the Little Missouri River and the Badlands.
Coin sculptor and engraver Phebe Hemphill said in a video posted to the U.S. Mint’s You-Tube page that the coin was a “challenging, wonderful job” and said sculpting the Badlands landscape proved somewhat difficult.
“That was another challenge, just because of the depiction of that distant landscape was interesting, sculpting in such low relief and the challenge of making the design as dynamic as possible, and using all the tools we have available, she said.
The coin launch ceremony coincides with the 100th anniversary with the National Park Service. Several political and National Park Service dignitaries are scheduled to attend the event.
The U.S. Mint is also hosting a coin forum at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24, at the Old Town Theater on Broadway Street in Medora. The forum is an opportunity for the public to express their views about future coinage and learn about the Mint’s upcoming programs and initiatives.
Dustin Monke 