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The U.S. Virgin Islands Quarter was released on September 28, 2009. This represented the fifth release of the 2009 DC & US Territories Quarter Program, which featured six designs for the non-state jurisdictions of the United States.
The reverse design of the Virgin Islands Quarter features a bird known as the Banana Quit pictured next to the Yellow Cedar flower. Behind the bird is a Tyre Palm, a tree native to the Virgin Islands. The background includes an outline of the three main islands. The inscriptions include “U.S. Virgin Islands,” “United in Pride and Hope,” “E Pluribus Unum,” and the date. The reverse was designed and sculpted by Joseph Menna.
This design was selected from three finalist designs. The other designs featured the Conch Shell Blower representing Virgin Islands as the First in Freedom, and the Three Queens symbols of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. The design selection was officially announced by the United States Mint on December 15, 2008.
The Virgin Islands Quarter had a combined mintage of 82 million coins for circulation. The mintage was evenly divided between the Philadelphia and Denver Mint facilities. Proof and silver proof versions of the coin were struck at the San Francisco Mint. These coin were issued only within annual collector sets issued by the United States Mint.