First 2020 "America the Beautiful Quarter" celebrates the National Park of American Samoa.
The United States Mint releases new quarters every year, but the design revealed in the beginning of 2020 actually holds quite a bit of symbolism to it.
It was officially released on February 13, 2020, and it's honoring the National Park of American Samoa in Utulei, American Samoa. The quarter was the first of 2020 and the 51st release of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program.
So far, the year 2020 has brought a lot of panic, misunderstanding, worry, and uncertainty to people all over the world. The fact that a bat was chosen to be on one of this year's quarters is actually pretty neat, though.
For instance, the backside of the quarter displays the Samoan fruit bat mother hanging in a tree with her pup. The image is meant to represent the "remarkable care and energy that this species puts into their offspring."
Its main intention is to promote awareness of the species’ threatened status due to habitat loss and commercial hunting. However, it's fun to look at it in another way.
If you dive into the world of animal symbolism, a bat often represents:
"...death in the sense of letting go of the old, and bringing in the new. They are symbols of transition, of initiation, and the start of a new beginning."
Now, not everyone believes in symbolism, but being that the bat represents transition and the start of a new beginning is something worth taking seriously.
To many, 2020 hasn't been the ideal year for them, and I've heard a lot of people say they can't wait for it to end, but time is only a construct. Things don't necessarily change after every 12-month cycle just because it's a new year. The days keep on truckin' and now's the time to "let go of the old and bring in the new."
Either way, I hope the fruit bat found on the back of certain 2020 quarters enlightens you — if you are to stumble upon one, that is. If I find one I plan on taking a moment to reflect on the transition I'm going through and how I want to welcome the "new."
The world may seem a little "batty" at times, but we've got to keep flappin' our wings.
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