2017 Ellis Island (Statue of Liberty National Monument) Quarter
Thirty-Ninth in the America the Beautiful Quarters Collection

Ellis Island, which was America’s largest immigrant processing station until it closed in 1954, is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in New York Harbor. The island is in New Jersey, although the adjoining Statue of Liberty is in New York.

Ellis Island opened in 1892, and between then and 1954 about 12 million immigrants arriving by ship from Europe came through its doors. The island was originally much smaller, but it was expanded through landfill to its present 27.5 acres. Immigrants were initially processed in the Great Hall, where they were questioned and given brief medical examinations. Not all immigrants were admitted, however, since many with chronic diseases or criminal records were refused entry. Today, about one in three Americans has an ancestor who arrived in the United States through Ellis Island.

The main attractions at Ellis Island are the National Museum of Immigration, which is located in the main building, and the Wall of Honor that contains the names of many of those who were processed upon arrival in the United States.

The reverse of the 2017 Ellis Island (Statue of Liberty National Monument) Quarter depicts an immigrant family arriving at Ellis Island, with the Ellis Island hospital in the background. The immigrants express both hope and uncertainty, while the child represents the new generation who will populate the United States.

As well as the final design, the U.S. Mint prepared seven other prospective designs for the Ellis Island (Statue of Liberty National Monument) Quarter. Two additional designs also showed different images of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. Three designs featured the Art Deco spire at the Ellis Island Ferry Building; the ferry terminal brought immigrants from Ellis Island to Manhattan and New Jersey, where they were free to start their new lives in the United States. The final two designs highlighted the Ellis Island hospital complex.

This is the Philadelphia and Denver Mint uncirculated rolls of 40 quarters each.

2017 Ellis Island National Monument Roll Pair - Philadelphia and Denver Mint - Uncirculated