New series of quarters will feature national parks

The U.S. quarter-dollar still hasn't found a long-term design. Fresh off the 2008 completion of the decade-long program that honored each state with its own quarter, the U.S. Mint has announced a new program that will honor 56 national parks or federally preserved areas, Environmental News Service reports.

The "America the Beautiful Quarters Program" will feature one national park or preserved area from each state and territory. The program will begin in April 2010 with a quarter honoring Arkansas' Hot Springs National Park and will continue till 2021, ending with Alabama's Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. The quarters will be released in the order the site was placed under the control of the U.S. government; Hot Springs became a "federal reservation" in 1832, four years before Arkansas became a state. (Read more)

The Appalachian Mountains will receive their fair share of recognition, with quarters honoring the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in Kentucky, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, the White Mountains National Forest in New Hampshire and the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. You can see the full list of quarters here.