01
Common loon
A long bill and patterned neck identify the focal form. The species name is sourced; no call, nest or migration is implied.
Voyageurs
National Park
One bird, within a connected shoreline.
A low bird silhouette meets upright trees and a cliff. The clear interval of water keeps these forms connected without crowding them together.
Read the reverse ⟶DenominationQuarter dollar
Weight5 troy ounces
Fineness99.9% silver
Diameter76.2 mm
Mint markNone · bullion
IssuerUnited States Mint
Reverse design anatomy
Bird, water
and wooded rock
The Mint identifies a common loon with a rock cliff behind it. The engraved bird occupies the foreground while trees and shoreline recede toward the right.
The following close reading describes visible forms. It does not assign undocumented intentions to the artists.
02
Water surface
Low ripples run below the patterned body. They are visible marks, not measurements of depth or water quality.
03
Wooded shore
Upright trunks separate rock and open sky. Individual tree species are not assigned from the coin.
The place behind the coin
A changing mosaic,
not untouched scenery
NPS describes a meeting of northern hardwood and southern boreal forest, with lakes and wetlands linked to the surrounding land. Fire, beavers, invasive species and active monitoring are part of its ecological account—not a claim of pristine, static wilderness.
The Mint calls 1971 the establishment year. NPS park history distinguishes the January 8, 1971 authorizing law from the April 8, 1975 order formally establishing the park. Both milestones are retained.
- 1971Authorizing law · NPS
- 1975Formal establishment · NPS
- 2018Issue #43
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 2018 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 design: Patricia Lucas-Morris; sculpt: Joseph Menna.
- 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.