How to Identify the Shawnee Quarter
A collector's walkthrough for confirming the 2016 Shawnee National Forest quarter: its rock-formation design, inscriptions, metal, and mint marks.
Read the full Shawnee Quarter encyclopedia entry →
Begin with the designed side, which is the quickest confirmation. The Shawnee Quarter shows a natural scene of stacked sandstone rock formations — the Garden of the Gods outcrops in Shawnee National Forest — with wooded terrain behind them. Read the inscriptions: SHAWNEE arcs across the top, with ILLINOIS and the date 2016 near the bottom, alongside E PLURIBUS UNUM. Those place names lock in the specific America the Beautiful issue and separate it from the dozens of other designs in the series.
Turn to the portrait side. You should see George Washington facing left, the standard America the Beautiful obverse, with LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and QUARTER DOLLAR. This side confirms the coin is a U.S. quarter rather than a medal or token, and it is where the mint mark lives.
Check size and metal. A genuine circulating Shawnee Quarter is copper-nickel clad, about 24.3 mm across and 5.67 g, with a reeded edge; look at the rim and you should see a coppery core stripe sandwiched between the outer layers. A coin that is markedly larger and heavier, edge-lettered, or fully silver in tone is the five-ounce silver version, not the everyday clad coin.
Locate the mint mark to the right of Washington's neck: P, D, or S. P and D coins came from circulation strikes, while S denotes San Francisco collector proofs and uncirculated pieces. Because this is a common modern coin, outright counterfeits are unlikely; the more useful caution is not to confuse the clad circulating coin with the silver bullion issue, and to have any coin claimed as a rare error or top-grade example verified by a reputable grading service before paying a premium.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell the Shawnee Quarter from other America the Beautiful quarters?
Read the inscriptions on the designed side. The Shawnee Quarter names SHAWNEE and ILLINOIS with the date 2016 and shows rock formations, whereas each other design names a different site and scene.
Which side has the rock formations — obverse or reverse?
The rock-formation scene is the reverse (the program's designed side); the obverse carries the shared George Washington portrait. Both are part of the same coin.
My quarter has no mint mark — is that a problem?
Look again to the right of Washington's neck; circulating coins carry a P or D there. A truly absent mint mark on a modern quarter is unusual and would be worth examining, but faint or worn marks are common.
Is a shiny Shawnee Quarter a proof or a valuable error?
Not necessarily. Many uncirculated coins look bright. Genuine San Francisco proofs have mirror fields and an S mark, and any suspected error should be confirmed by a professional grader before assuming added value.