2013-P Great Basin

The 2013-P Great Basin captures one of the longest-lived organisms on the planet on a circulating U.S. quarter. Don Everhart's reverse, sculpted by Don Everhart, depicts a mature Great Basin bristlecone pine clinging to high-elevation rock, the species (Pinus longaeva) whose oldest individuals exceed 4,800 years and grow on the ridgelines of Wheeler Peak inside the park. Philadelphia struck 122,400,000 pieces, more than five times the 2012 P-mint average and reflecting the 2013 Federal Reserve order surge that ran across the entire year. Great Basin National Park, in eastern Nevada, was established in 1986 from the older Lehman Caves National Monument.

Strike quality on the issue concentrates on the gnarled branch structure of the bristlecone and the texture of the bare rock substrate beneath it. The tree is the visual anchor and carries the most fine detail; well-struck examples show clear separation between living branches and weather-stripped deadwood, while late-die-state coins flatten these distinctions and reduce the design to a generic conifer outline. The clad composition (75% copper-nickel outer layers over a pure copper core, 5.67 grams, 24.26 mm) matches every quarter struck since 1965, so authentication is functionally a non-issue and the high-grade market runs through PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service) and NGC slabs. Roll hunters routinely recover MS65 examples from original P-mint rolls.

This is a Regular-classification issue and trades as a common date through the entire high Mint State range. The 122.4 million mintage produces a comfortable certified population at MS67 and meaningful availability at MS68, with population reports placing the date in roughly the same condition tier as Perry's Memorial. Real premium pricing kicks in only at MS68+ for coins showing full strike on the bristlecone's branch detail. The unusual subject matter, a single tree, has given the issue a small following among collectors who pursue U.S. coins depicting individual organisms. For the broader story of the ATB program and the series' design arc, see the Washington ATB series history.