2013-S Mount Rushmore America the Beautiful Quarter : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes ….
 

Not each fashionable U.S. coin with an “S” mintmark is a Proof. Some product choices from the United States Mint embrace uncirculated business-strike variations of circulating cash that could be of heightened curiosity to collectors. As a part of the America the Stunning Quarters program in 2012, the San Francisco Mint produced the primary business-strike quarters it had made since 1954, and it has continued to take action to at the present time.

As to the topic of this profile, San Francisco struck over a million 2013-S America the Stunning Mount Rushmore Nationwide Memorial Quarters representing South Dakota, which had been accessible solely in baggage and rolls. Although like Proof cash, one might unintentionally enter circulation once in a while.

The Mount Rushmore Nationwide Memorial Quarter – An Vital Coin

The Mount Rushmore Nationwide Memorial Quarter is a vital landmark within the Mint’s aesthetic historical past, that includes arguably the most effective depiction of the monument on a United States coin. The quarter was the final of 5 circulating commemorative quarters launched in 2013 and the twentieth entry within the 56-coin collection, which was licensed by Public Law 110-456 and ran from 2010 by means of 2021.

The design options the mega-sculpture that dominates Mount Rushmore Nationwide Memorial within the Black Hills of Lakota Territory. Really entitled Shrine of Democracy, sculptor Gutzon Borglum managed its creation from 1927 by means of its 1941 completion. “Mount Rushmore” has been an icon of American patriotism ever since.

Beforehand, the sculpture appeared on the 1991 Mount Rushmore Golden Anniversary commemorative clad half greenback, silver greenback, and gold $5 cash. The standard of artwork and design produced by the Mint has improved enormously over the previous couple of a long time, although to be truthful, so have its technological capabilities.

Nonetheless, some objects are notoriously tough to depict on a numismatic canvas, and Mount Rushmore is amongst these. From its measurement creating problems with scale and POV to its cliché standing as a visible touchstone, really inventive choices wanted to be made for the 2013 quarter. Future Chief Engraver Joseph Menna proved himself as much as the duty.

As a substitute of a head-on view of your complete monument, Menna brings our eye in shut, exhibiting members of Borglum’s crew engaged on the faces of Thomas Jefferson (foreground) and George Washington. This not solely commemorates the American artists and laborers who realized the sculpture but additionally reveals the work’s monumental scale. By altering the standard POV by nearly 90 levels, Menna provides depth to the coin’s central motif. The feat was ingenious sufficient for the 2013 Mount Rushmore Quarter to earn the Coin of the Yr, Greatest Circulating Coin award from Krause Publications in 2014, besting 92 different cash in worldwide competitors.

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Market Information and Noteworthy Specimens

Gross sales for luggage and rolls containing the 2013-S Mount Rushmore Nationwide Memorial Quarter opened at midday on November 5. The Mint then held an official launch ceremony on November 6 on the Nationwide Guard Armory in Custer, South Dakota. Nick Clifford, the final surviving employee on the monument, was in attendance. Appearing Affiliate Director for Manufacturing David Croft represented the Mint. Most people was invited to change $10 for brand spanking new quarter rolls.

As of November 2024, PCGS reviews 189 grading occasions for the business-strike 2013-S Mount Rushmore America the Stunning Quarter, with a high inhabitants of eight examples graded MS70. NGC reviews 566 grading occasions, with 21 cash graded a high pop MS68. CAC Grading, a brand new full-service grading firm, has but to grade any.

High Inhabitants: PCGS MS70 (8, 11/2024), NGC MS68 (21, 11/2024), and CAC N/A (0:0 stickered:graded, 11/2024).

• NGC MS68 #3853147-002: “The Centurion Assortment,” GreatCollections, June 3, 2018, Lot 582267 – View.

• PCGS MS67 #28921732: “Erasmus Corridor Registry Set of America the Stunning Quarters,” GreatCollections, September 26, 2021, Lot 1034154 – View. First Strike label.
• PCGS MS67 #41508087: GreatCollections, June 6, 2021, Lot 998280 – View.
• NGC MS67 #3862550-009: GreatCollections, March 28, 2021, Lot 963340 – View. America’s Nationwide Treasures: South Dakota – Mount Rushmore label (#259, retired).
• NGC MS67 #3911341-008: GreatCollections, February 7, 2021, Lot 915484 – View. America’s Nationwide Treasures: South Dakota – Mount Rushmore label (#259, retired).
• PCGS MS67 #29284966: GreatCollections, January 29, 2017, Lot 413340 – View. Flag label.
• NGC MS67 #3862550-016: GreatCollections, June 8, 2014, Lot 200598 – View. America’s Nationwide Treasures: South Dakota – Mount Rushmore label (#259, retired).

• NGC MS66: eBay, October 24, 2024, Lot 156446545365 – $4. America’s Nationwide Treasures: South Dakota – Mount Rushmore label (#259, retired).

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2013-S Mount Rushmore America the Stunning Quarter Design

Obverse:

Based mostly on the John Flanagan design, a bust of President and Founding Father George Washington faces left; Flanagan’s initials JF seem on the bust truncation. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA wraps across the central design near the rim, and the denomination QUARTER DOLLAR is on the backside. The phrase LIBERTY is inscribed horizontally to the left of Washington’s neck. The nationwide motto IN GOD WE TRUST is inscribed to the correct of Washington’s hair in three strains. An S mintmark representing the San Francisco Mint is above the “R” in DOLLAR.

Reverse:

The reverse depicts a close-up scene of a person suspended in a harness utilizing a hammer and chisel to work on Thomas Jefferson’s face at Mount Rushmore. One other employee stands on scaffolding connecting Jefferson’s head to Washington’s. A large body surrounds the design, presenting the inscription MOUNT RUSHMORE on the high, and SOUTH DAKOTA, 2013, and the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM on the backside. Designer Joseph Menna’s initials JFM seem beneath the scaffold simply above the “TA” of DAKOTA.

Edge:

The sting of the 2013-D Mount Rushmore Quarter is reeded.

Coin Specs

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