The El Yunque National Forest quarter is the 11th quarter in the America the Beautiful Quarters^® Program. El Yunque National Forest, located in Puerto Rico, is the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest System.

Although the forest is relatively small (28,000 acres), it supports a surprisingly wide variety of plant and animal life. Visitors also like its climate: tropical all year 'round.

More than 1 million visitors from all over the world enjoy the forest each year. Its extensive system of trails lead visitors to appreciate the ecological treasures that reside there. It was in 1903 that El Yunque joined the then-growing array of national sites.

In El Yunque's quarter design, a Coqui tree frog sits on a leaf and a Puerto Rican parrot stands on a branch among tropical plants. The Puerto Rican parrot is found only in Puerto Rico. Though the species is endangered, its numbers are growing through a conservation program that began at El Yunque.

How can you make something better than the 50 State Quarter Program? Here's how !!

There were many reasons for the success of the State Quarter program in 1999. The top two - the design ( each state had their own theme ), and the limited production - only being made for less than 11 weeks.

Starting in 2010, it just got better. Taking a page from the success referenced above, the US Mint will be issuing a New Series .. "The America the Beautiful Quarters™." But this one will have a twist. There will be one quarter per state, just like the 50 State Program, but the design will be based on one of the National Parks located in each state. The order will be based on when they were introduced as a National Treasure.

But the kicker is distribution. Unlike the 50 State Quarter program where Congress forced the Mint to distribute the quarters to the local markets ( and even then many of us didn't see but a few of the releases ) this new program does NOT have to be released into the same flow of commerce. What does that mean? Well in 2009 the Mint released 6 special quarters for the six US Protectorate Territories .. adding them to the 50 State Quarter Program. Have any of you seen them in circulation? And if so, more than a couple? That's the "New" distribution system.

This is the Denver Minted, uncirculated quarter. It will be encapsulated to protect its condition.