Blue Ridge Parkway featured on new U.S. quarter design

The Blue Ridge Parkway is featured in a new design of the U.S. quarter that was unveiled earlier this week.

The back of the new 25-cent coin depicts a curved road headed toward one of the parkway’s many tunnels. The N.C. state flower is also shown in the right foreground of the image, with “Blue Ridge Parkway” and “North Carolina” among the inscriptions.

“This new quarter stands now as a tribute to this national scenic byway–a cross section of Appalachian mountain history essential to the story of our nation, tying together diverse landscapes and rich history,” David Croft, an associate director at the U.S. Mint, said in a news release.

The new quarter is the latest release in the Mint’s America the Beautiful program. So far, 28 coins have been issued.

Three-roll sets of the Blue Ridge Parkway quarters will be available for sale starting Monday.

The 469-mile long parkway stretches through 29 counties in North Carolina and Virginia. It was established as a national park site in 1936.

This story was originally published June 27, 2015 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Blue Ridge Parkway featured on new U.S. quarter design."