The Lowell National Historical Park Quarter Is Officially In Circulation!
Lowell National Historical Park and the United States Mint were thrilled to celebrate the launch of the Lowell National Historical Park quarter on February 6th, 2019 with a full house at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, including the entire 4th grade of Lowell Public Schools, many other Lowell classes and students, coin enthusiasts from across the country, and so many of our partners, friends, and neighbors in Lowell and nearby communities in attendance. With over 328 million Lowell quarters out in the world, Lowell continues to make its mark on American history!
The design of the Lowell NHP Quarter was created by artist Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by sculptor/engraver Phebe Hemphill, and was selected in August 2018 from among 18 designs submitted by members of the Mint’s Artistic Infusion Program. The design weaves together the key elements of the human story of the industrial revolution and its legacies, innovations in technology, and the preservation of the industrial cityscape. In a very compact space, the design conveys a broad range of Lowell National Historical Park’s stories and themes.
The Quarter's Design:
The design selected depicts a female textile worker, one of Lowell’s “mill girls,” tending to a power loom in the weave room of one of Lowell’s cotton mills. Prominently featured is the large circular bobbin battery that kept the loom’s shuttle supplied with yarn. In the background, a view of the iconic Boott Cotton Mill clocktower and smokestack appears through the window. “Lowell” is inscribed across the top, with “Massachusetts,” “2019,” and “E Pluribus Unum” inscribed around the bottom. The design will appear on the reverse of the quarter, with the familiar bust of George Washington appearing on the obverse.
The selection was made from among 18 designs submitted by designers in the Mint’s Artistic Infusion Program. All of the designs were reviewed over the last year, and recommendations and preferred choices sent to the Mint from the Citizen Coinage Advisory Council, the Commission of Fine Arts, the Governor of Massachusetts, and Lowell National Historical Park. Based on the recommendations, the final design choice was approved by the United States Secretary of the Treasury.
The Lowell quarter design was created by stamp, coin, and medal artist Joel Iskowitz, who has worked with the Mint on over 50 coin designs, including three others in the America the Beautiful series. The design will be transformed into three dimensions by the work of sculptor-engraver Phebe Hemphill, a Mint sculptor credited with sculpting many commemorative medals, presidential dollar coins, and seven designs in the America the Beautiful quarter series.
This design weaves together the key elements of the human story of the industrial revolution and its legacies, innovations in technology, and the preservation of the industrial cityscape. In a very compact way, the design conveys a broad range of Lowell’s historic stories.
The worker highlights the importance of Lowell’s female workforce, and the scene conveys a sense of the intensity of factory work. The circular part of the loom, the Northrop automatic bobbin changer, was one of the great innovations in machine technology that changed the experience of textile factory work in the early 20th century. Visitors to the park today can see the bobbin batteries on the working looms at the Boott Cotton Mills Museum. In the background of the design, the chimney suggests the changing source of industrial power from waterwheels and turbines to steam engines, and the clock and bell tower of the Boott Mill through the window reminds of the shift from pre-industrial time based on the rhythms of the natural world to the “on the clock” time of the industrial revolution.
2019 marked the 10th year of the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program, which is authorized by Public Law 110-456- the America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin act of 2008. The act directs the Mint to design, mint, and issue quarter-dollar coins emblematic of a national park or other national site in each state, the District of Columbia, and the five U.S. territories. For more on the Mint and the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program, including information and designs for all five of the 2019 quarters, visit www.usmint.gov
