(WWJ) - A new quarter coming out in February might just be the cutest currency ever introduced in the U.S.
The design, one of the final six coins in the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, prominently features a mother and baby fruit bat as a tribute to the National Park of American Samoa.
The coin was designed by Richard Masters. According to the U.S. Mint:
"Mr. Masters’ design depicts a Samoan Fruit Bat mother hanging in a tree with her pup evoking the remarkable care and energy that this species puts into their offspring. The design is intended to promote awareness of 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."
Other coins set for release this year honor Weir Farm National Historic Site (Connecticut), Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve (U.S. Virgin Islands), Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park (Vermont), and Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (Kansas). The design for the sixth and final coin in the program will honor the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Alabama, which is set for release in 2021.