MINTY FRESH: U.S. Mint follows up state quarters with "America the Beautiful" program, focusing on national parks and other uniquely American places.

The article reports on the America the Beautiful program which authorizes the featuring of the American national parks in the U.S. Coins. It presents the statement by U.S. Mint spokesperson Cynthia Meals about the goal and theme of the program, and the reason they use the coin collecting hobby as a vehicle for promoting the parks. It cites the bill that introduced the program, and the process involved in selecting the design for the coin. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]