A New U.S. Quarter is Coming Out And It Has Bats on it

Each year the U.S. Mint releases five new quarter designs as a part of their America the Beautiful Program. The program is meant to feature national parks and other national sites.  This year, one of the quarters they added is getting special attention due to it's design. The National Park of American Samoas quarter is one of the five to be released in February, and it features two fruit bats on the back.

The image on the back of the new quarter depicts a Samoan fruit bat mother hanging with her pup.  They decided to go with a fruit bat design because the National Park of American Samoa is the only place in the United States where the Samoan fruit bat lives, and to bring awareness to the fruit bat species, and their threatened status.

The reverse (tails) design depicts a Samoan fruit bat mother hanging in a tree with her pup. The image evokes the remarkable care and energy that this species puts into their offspring. The design is intended to promote awareness to the species’ threatened status due to habitat loss and commercial hunting. The National Park of American Samoa is the only park in the United States that is home to the Samoan fruit bat. (U.S. Mint)

So basically, this new quarter raises awareness about a totally adorable creature (seriously, just Google pictures of Samoan fruit bats, they'll melt your heart), and gives the little goth in all of us a reason to smile. I am here for it.