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U.S. Mint presents Bombay Hook quarter

Delaware Public Media

The U.S. National Mint officially unveiled a new quarter featuring Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge.

The quarter features the great blue heron and the great egret, two avian residents of Bombay Hook.

“It’s an image of the great blue heron and the great egret, two birds you can usually see here year-round. Anytime you come, there’s usually one in the freshwater impoundments or in the marsh," said Oscar Reed, manager of the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge.

Reed is thrilled that the new quarter released by the U.S. Mint will share a majestic image one of Delaware's most beautiful natural areas.

“I’ve been here 17 years and when I first came here, I fell in love with it," said Reed. "So it’s really nice to see the refuge commemorated but it’s also good for all of Delaware. There was only one site selected and we were the site that was chosen. We’re proud that happened and we hope it brings more people out to the refuge to see what Bombay Hook is about.”

The quarter is one of 29 coins released so far in the U.S. Mint’s America is Beautiful series recognizing national parks and historical sites across the country. Like Reed, Marc Landry, the manager of the U.S. Mint’s plant in Philadelphia, hopes that younger generations who collect the quarters will be curious about the natural scenes on the tail side of the coin.

“It’s getting them to ask questions. They’ll get a quarter, they look at them, they’re interested in them. And then they go home and ask their parents, ‘What’s this Bombay Hook?’” said Landry.

As a part of the quarters’ release, elementary schools also received educational packages to teach children about the environment and conservation efforts at Bombay Hook.

The quarters, which each cost four cents to make, also help generate revenue for the federal government. And some of the proceeds will go toward supporting Bombay Hook and the new First State National Park.

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