01
The heron
The upright neck and long bill dominate the near field.
Bombay Hook
National Wildlife
Refuge
A standing heron. A lowered bill.
A great blue heron stands in the foreground; a great egret bends toward the water behind it. The marsh is a shared setting, not an empty space between portraits.
Read the reverse ⟶DenominationQuarter dollar
Weight5 troy ounces
Fineness99.9% silver
Diameter76.2 mm
Mint markNone · bullion
IssuerUnited States Mint
Reverse design anatomy
Standing tall.
Reaching down.
The Mint identifies a foreground great blue heron and a great egret behind it. Their contrasting postures organize the water and marsh vegetation. The lowered bill is visible; a successful catch or a particular prey species is not.
The following close reading describes visible forms. It does not assign undocumented intentions to the artists.
02
The egret
The farther bird bends its neck down toward the water.
03
The marsh
Low islands of vegetation interrupt the open water.
The place behind the coin
A refuge within
a larger migration network
The Fish and Wildlife Service dates the refuge to 1937 and describes its role in a chain of migratory-bird refuges from Canada toward the Gulf of Mexico.
Tidal marsh, managed freshwater impoundments and upland habitats coexist here. This habitat mosaic gives the birds a context; the coin is not a map of the refuge or proof of a particular migration journey.
- 1937Wildlife refuge established
- 2015Twenty-ninth program design
Historical context, not a reconstruction. No unverified event photograph is used.
Same design. A larger canvas.
From pocket change
to a statement in silver
The 2015 design also belongs to the circulating quarter. At 76.2 mm, the five-ounce silver coin is 3.14 times wider by diameter—not 3.14 times heavier.
The quarter is a measured outline: an exact authorized quarter photograph is not bound for this page. It is not a miniature bullion image.
Collect with context
Know the design.
Know the object.
Reverse designer Joel Iskowitz · reverse sculptor Phebe Hemphill
- Standard bullion
- No mint mark · Authorized Purchasers · incuse edge weight and fineness.
- Collector five-ounce
- P mint mark · special finish · a separate object. Collector totals are not bullion mintages.