Back in the day, I feel so old saying it now, I collected all of the 50 states quarters series. Yeah, I had a special display book for them, talk about a real nerd. Well, yes, that's a bat on a 2020 quarter I got in some change a few weeks ago. What's the scoop?

Starting in 2010, the US Mint started issuing its "America the Beautiful" quarters series which has and will honor a National Park in each state, including in US territories and the District of Columbia totaling 56 quarters. The first round included several iconic locations such as Yellowstone (Wyoming) and Yosemite (California). Kentucky's by the way, which was issued in 2016, honors Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.

This year's series included parks from American Samoa and the US Virgin Islands and that's where we arrive at the bats. They are Samoan Fruit Bats. Here's more from the US Mint.

"The reverse (tails) design depicts a Samoan fruit bat mother hanging in a tree with her pup. The image evokes the remarkable care and energy that this species puts into their offspring. The design is intended to promote awareness to the species’ threatened status due to habitat loss and commercial hunting. The National Park of American Samoa is the only park in the United States that is home to the Samoan fruit bat."

The other 2020 quarters include Weir Farm National Historic Site (Connecticut), Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park (Vermont), and Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Preserve (US Virgin Islands). I have a bunch of Salt River Bay quarters.

There's two more to be minted and distributed, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (Kansas) will be released on November 16th and the final quarter in the "America the Beautiful" series, Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (Alabama) will be released on February 1, 2021.

HERE are pictures of the 2020-2021 series. How many do you have? Have you found an American Samoa one?

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