The faces of Mount Rushmore National Memorial will be going on a nation-wide tour in 2013 – sort of. The 60 foot tall granite carvings will obviously not be traveling – but their likenesses will be, in the form of a new United States quarter.

The U.S Mint announced that beginning next year they will be releasing a new series of quarters as part of the “America the Beautiful Quarters Program.”  The series of coins will release five new designs every year, beginning in 2010.

Currently, the quarter with the state of South Dakota’s design also features the local monument, along with a ring-necked pheasant, as shown above. This new Mount Rushmore quarter, which will begin circulation in 2013, will apparently feature a different version of the presidents’ faces.

Other national parks that will be part of this new series of quarters include: Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, the Florida Everglades and Oregon’s Mount Hood. One national park or monument from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five outlying U.S. territories will be featured. The complete listing of featured sites and dates of release can be found at the U.S. Mint’s website.

The actual faces at Mount Rushmore National Memorial are scaled to men who would stand about 465 feet tall. In comparison, the tiny little faces on the new quarters will be scaled to men who would only be about a half inch tall.

I doubt that tourists would flock to see Mount Rushmore if it were the size it will be on these quarters. But then again, it would be tough to fit an entire mountain in your pocket.