2016-P Harpers Ferry America the Beautiful Quarter : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes….

The America the Beautiful Quarters Program debuted on the heels of the 50 State Quarters Program and its adjunct District of Columbia and Territories program.

Authorized by Public Law 110–456 (source: PDF), the America the Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008, called for the “issuance of redesigned quarters dollars emblematic of national parks or other national sites in each state, the District of Columbia, and each territory.

Similar to the issuance order of the 50 State Quarters Program, America the Beautiful National Parks quarters are issued one per state, based on the order in which the selected site was first established as a National Park.

Harpers Ferry Was a Flashpoint that Presaged the Civil War

The Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Quarter, representing West Virginia, is the 33rd issue in the America the Beautiful Quarters Program and the third one released in 2016.

The quarter honors a significiant moment in American history- the raid on Harper’s Ferry. Harpers Ferry is a historic town located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, at the border of what are now West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. The town is best known as the site of abolitionist John Brown’s 1859 raid on the United States Federal Armory.

John Brown (1800-1859) was an evangelical Christian and radical abolitionist who believed that only violent insurrection would end slavery in the United States. Born in Connecticut, Brown spent much of his life working to free the enslaved. His convictions were strengthened after the murder of abolitionist editor Elijah P. Lovejoy in 1837. Brown later moved his family to Springfield, Massachusetts, an abolitionist stronghold, where he met prominent figures like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. He also established the city as an important stop on the Underground Railroad.

In 1850 formed a militia in response to the passage of the detested Fugitive Slave Act. In the late 1850s, Brown traveled to Kansas to help his sons defend their anti-slavery communities from pro-slavery militias in the violent prelude to the American Civil War known as “Bleeding Kansas“.

Gaining secret financial backing from wealthy East Coast abolitionists, Brown began to plan armed assaults against the institutions of slavery. At a meeting in Ontario, Canada, John Brown met the noted abolitionist and former slave Harriet Tubman. “General Tubman” provided on-the-ground intelligence and logistical support to Brown and his scheme but was ultimately not able to join him on his raid of the armory due to illness.

On October 16, 1859, John Brown and more than 20 of his men attacked the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, which was then part of the southern slave state of Virginia. Their goal was to seize weapons and incite a massive slave rebellion. However, the revolt was quickly put down by U.S. Marines under the command of Colonel Robert E. Lee. John Brown was captured and, after a trial, was executed by hanging on December 2.

The building where Brown’s men made their final stand, known as John Brown’s Fort, was dismantled and moved several times before the National Park Service (NPS) acquired it in 1960. The NPS relocated it to a spot in Harpers Ferry closer to its original location. The park was officially designated a National Historical Park in 1963.

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2016-P Harpers Ferry Quarter Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

Top Population: PCGS MS68 (1, 9/2025), NGC MS69 (1, 9/2025), and CAC N/A (9/2025).

• Uncirculated Coins (Raw): eBay, August 5, 2025 – $2.25. Buy It Now.
• Mint Roll ($10): eBay, August 2, 2025 – $26.73. Buy It Now.

Design

Obverse:

A modern reworking of John Flanagan’s Washington quarter design. Washington’s left-facing bust sits in the center of the coin. Flanagan’s initials “JF” is visible in the bust truncation. Wrapping around the top of the coin is the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. To Washington’s left is the inscription LIBERTY. To his right, the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. The coin’s denomination wraps around the bottom of the coin, written as QUARTER DOLLAR.

Reverse:

The reverse of the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park prominently features John Brown’s Fort. Encircling the main design is a ring that includes (clockwise from the top) the inscriptions HARPERS FERRY, E PLURIBUS UNUM, the year 2016, and WEST VIRGINIA. Beneath the fort in the main central design is the inscription JOHN BROWN’S FORT.

United States Artistic Infusion Program artist Thomas Hipschen designed the reverse; his initials are located at the bottom left corner of the building next to the words WEST VIRGINIA.

Mint designer Phebe Hemphill engraved and modified Hipschen’s design. Her initials are found to the right of the fort, next to the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM.

Coin Specifications:

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