State-Quarter.com

United States Mint Director and Governor to Launch Minnesota State Quarter

Join United States Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore, Governor Tim Pawlenty, celebrities and school children from throughout the State as they officially launch the Minnesota quarter at the State Capitol Building in St. Paul on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 at 11:25 a.m. (as in 25 cents). A quarter exchange will follow the event in which the public may exchange their ten-dollar bills for rolls of shiny, new Minnesota state quarters. Each child will receive a free Minnesota quarter.

On the eve of the Minnesota Quarter Launch, United States Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore will also host a Coin Collectors Forum from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. to discuss what the American people would like to see in their coinage. The public and news media are welcome.

The Minnesota quarter-dollar commemorative coin is the second state quarter released in 2005. On May 11, 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd state admitted into the Union, and as such, it is the 32nd coin to be issued in the United States Mint’s popular 50 State Quarters® Program. The design features a tree-lined lake with two people fishing, a loon on the water, and a textured outline of the State surrounding its nickname, “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” Free lesson plans may be downloaded at www.usmint.gov.

WHAT: Minnesota Quarter Launch & Quarter Exchange, Tuesday, April 12

Coin Collectors Forum Monday Night, April 11 hosted by United States Mint Director Fore

WHO:United States Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty

Minnesota Lt. Governor Carol Molnau

Minnesota Secretary of State Mary E. Kiffmeyer

Minnesota Education Commissioner Alice Seagren, Chair of Minnesota Quarter Dollar Commission

Master of Ceremonies Ron Schara

Minnesota Twins Great Kent Hrbek

Minnesota Vikings Great Ed McDaniel Nativez Inc.

The Lakeville High School Band

The Minnesota Boys Choir

WHEN: Minnesota Quarter Launch: Tuesday, April 12, 2005, 11:25 a.m. (CT)

Coin Collectors Forum: Monday, April 11, 2005, 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. (CT)

WHERE: Minnesota Quarter Launch: State Capitol Building, South Side

Coin Collectors Forum: Minnesota Department of Education, 1500 Highway 36 West, Roseville, MN, Conference Center B, Room CC 15

For a digital image of the Minnesota quarter:http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?action=photo#50state

VIDEO AVAILABLE

Satellite Feed of B-Roll of Minnesota State Quarter Launch

Satellite feed date: April 12, 2005; Feed time: 3:30 PM-4:00 PM; IA5; Transponder 5; DL 3800V

April 13, 2005; Feed Time: 1:00 PM-1:15 PM; IA6; Transponder 16; DL 4020H

This b-roll produced by the United States Mint will contain: 1.Minting of Minnesota quarter 2. Scenes from launch event at the State Capitol in St. Paul 3. Sound bites of officials from the event, launching the new Minnesota quarter.

WASHINGTON — The United States Mint announced today that commemorative quarter-dollar coins honoring Minnesota, the second coin in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program to be released in 2005, will go on sale beginning April 4, 2005, at 12:00 noon (ET), and will be available for purchase during the 10-week release period. The Minnesota quarter-dollars are available in two-roll sets (40 coins per roll), including one roll each from the United States Mint at Philadelphia and Denver, and in bags of 100 and 1,000 coins.

On May 11, 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd state to be admitted into the Union, and the Minnesota commemorative quarter is the 32nd coin to be issued in the United States Mint’s popular 50 State Quarters Program. The reverse design features a tree-lined lake with two people fishing, a loon on the water, and a textured outline of the State surrounding its nickname, “Land of 10,000 Lakes.”

The “Land of 10,000 Lakes” actually contains more than 15,000 such bodies of water with total shoreline exceeding 90,000 miles – more than California, Hawaii and Florida combined. Equally renowned as the home of the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River, the name Minnesota is derived from the Dakota Sioux word for “cloudy water.”

Each coin roll in the two-roll set is wrapped in a specially designed United States Mint paper coin wrap that prominently displays the 50 State Quarters Program logo, a “P” or “D” representing the roll’s mint of origin, “MN” designating the State of Minnesota, and “$10” representing its dollar value. Two-roll sets will sell for $32.00, bags of 100 coins for $35.50, and bags of 1,000 coins for $300.00. Each bag is marked with the mint of origin and the dollar value of its contents ($25.00 or $250.00). These two-roll sets and bags feature quarters used in regular transactions and are struck on our main production floors at the United States Mint at Philadelphia and Denver. There is no order limit on these products.

Customers can purchase the Minnesota quarter-dollars in two-roll sets and bags by using the United States Mint’s secure website, www.usmint.gov, or by calling 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). As an added convenience, customers can participate in a subscription-ordering program in which specific products, such as two-roll sets and bags, are charged and shipped to the customer automatically as each new quarter is released. For more information about this ordering method, please visit www.usmint.gov. Hearing- and speech-impaired customers may order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468). A shipping and handling fee of $4.95 per order will be added to all domestic orders. Quarter bags of 1,000 coins will have an additional charge of $7.95 per bag because of their weight and size.