Struck as the third 2012-dated release of the US Mint’s America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin™ series is the 2012 Acadia America the Beautiful Silver Uncirculated Coin. This coin showcases a design emblematic of Acadia National Park of Maine on the reverse.
Coins of the series each showcase a different design emblematic of fifty-six different locations of national interest found throughout the United States, its territories and the District of Columbia. The designs are actually originally created for use on the US Mint’s America the Beautiful Quarters® Program but are then also featured on this silver uncirculated coins series as well as the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins™.
All three series debuted with five 2010-dated strikes and feature five new releases annually as part of them. This makes the Acadia Silver Uncirculated Coin the thirteenth to appear in the series overall.
Like other coins in the silver uncirculated series, the Acadia Coin is struck from five ounces of .999 fine silver. It also features the relatively large diameter of three inches. These specifications were required by Congress for the associated silver bullion coins under the America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-456), however, the diameter requirement was later amended to allow for adjustments, if needed.
A ‘P’ mintmark is located on the silver uncirculated coin indicating it was struck at the US Mint’s facility in Philadelphia. The inclusion of the mintmark is the only definitive was to tell if the coin is part of this uncirculated series or a part of the related bullion series, which have no mintmarks.
Since these coins contain designs first created for the associated quarters, the obverse of each depicts a portrait of George Washington by John Flanagan, just like those quarters. The reverse design for the associated quarter, and thus this coin, is described by the US Mint with:
"The reverse of the (Acadia) quarter of 2012 depicts a view of the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse and Acadia’s rough coastline. Inscriptions are ACADIA, MAINE, 2012 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. The reverse was designed by AIP Associate Designer Barbara Fox and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna."
Acadia National Park of Maine
Acadia National Park is located in the state of Maine and preserves much of the larger Mount Desert Island and associated smaller islands. It was first given federal protection on July 8, 1916 when it was declared Sieur de Monts National Monument.
Just three years later, on February 26, 1919, it became Lafayette National Park in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette who was a prominent supporter of the colonies during the American Revolution. It finally was renamed to Acadia on January 19, 1929.
Much of the park’s infrastructure is owed to wealthy philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. who financed many of the trails and bridges still in use today.