On Wednesday, February 6, 2019, the U. S. Mint and the Lowell Historic National Park celebrated the release of a new quarter that, "Honors Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts." The ceremony was held at the Lowell Auditorium at 10 am. I began hearing about this about 8 months ago, but the entire process from conception took 10 years. To read about the history, see https://www.uml.edu/news/stories/2019/lowell-quarter-anstey.aspx
(Below paragraphs from above article.)
"Lowell National Historical Park was among the 100 candidates listed on the ballot, so Anstey sprang into action, calling and emailing everyone she knew, asking them to vote “early and often” for the park.
Thanks in part to her efforts, Lowell National Historical Park beat out better-known federal sites in Massachusetts, including Boston’s Freedom Trail (Boston National Historical Park), Concord’s Minute Man National Historical Park and the Cape Cod National Seashore, to win the honor of being featured on the coin."
I bought a roll of newly minted Lowell quarters on Friday, February 8th, from a city bank. In a few weeks, they will be sold in the Lowell National Historical Park Visitor's Center. This information was told to me by the park ranger below. This is where I picked up the postcard, shown above.
You can see the detail work on this coin, but unfortunately, it's almost impossible to read what was written.
DESCRIPTION
2019 America the Beautiful Quarters® Program – Lowell National Historical Park Rolls and Bags
The Lowell National Historical Park quarter is the first in 2019 and 46th overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters Program.
Established in 1978, Lowell National Historical Park preserves and interprets the role of Lowell, MA, in the Industrial Revolution in America, mainly during the 1820s and 1830s. The park archives the history of the human story in addition to the industry processes and cultural environment of the time.
The nearly six miles of canals and waterways dug to provide power to the textile mills were of vital importance and nearly all are still in existence. Dependent on this water power, the first “integrated” textile mill (a mill with all operations under one roof) was built in Lowell. This factory represented a new type of mill—an operation with large scale equipment, no longer dependent on the spinning wheel and individual artisans to create fabric. This change revolutionized the way cloth was manufactured and exemplified the changes to manufacturing that were realized during the Industrial Revolution.
The era was also defined in part by the “Mill Girls,” young women who were recruited to work in the mills where they earned cash wages and lived in supervised, company-owned boarding houses. Coming mostly from New England farms, the girls signed on to the mills for work for a designated period of time. This female workforce was critical to the textile industry for many years. As a group, they became an important voice for labor by:
- advocating for better working conditions through the first Lowell strike in 1834 and the 10-hour work day movement
- supporting abolitionism
- embracing education
The reverse (tails) design depicts a mill girl working at a power loom with its prominent circular bobbin battery. A view of Lowell, including the Boott Mill clock tower is seen through the window, inscriptions are “LOWELL,” “MASSACHUSETTS,” “2019,” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
SPECIFICATIONS
| Denomination: | Quarter |
|---|---|
| Composition: | 8.33% Nickel, Balance Copper |
| Weight: | 5.670 grams |
| Diameter: | 0.955 inch (24.26 mm) |
| Edge: | Reeded |
| Mint and Mint Mark: | Philadelphia – P |
Lowell National Historical Park and the United States Mint last week. Great to see a full house at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, with 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. We especially would like to thank all of the partners who supported the event and made this historic community event possible (check the photos for more info). Look for Lowell quarters at your local bank, and start checking your change!
