State-Quarter.com

WASHINGTON – The United States Mint is celebrating National Coin Week (April 17-23) by reaching out to 31,000 Assistant Principals and 57,500 Librarians and Media Specialists nationwide with information about the award-winning United States Mint H.I.P. Pocket Change™ Web site. This colorful Web site offers free educational resources for teachers, parents and students at www.usmint.gov/kids.

The site will also be featured in airport displays nationwide, promoting the interactive activities and games that have made the students’ site popular with professional educators, families and children across America.

An additional 20 million people will receive information about the H.I.P. Pocket Change site on the back of IRS income tax refund check envelopes.

When educators and families access the H.I.P. Pocket Change site, they will be greeted with these enhancements:

The Time Machine, one of H.I.P. Pocket Change’s most popular features, is being updated and expanded.

The Time Machine touches on 12 major eras in American history and some of the coins in use at the time of those events, to give students a historical perspective on the coinage.

The first four eras launched in 2004: the Colonial era (1667), the Revolutionary War era (1778), the Lewis and Clark era (1805), and the War of 1812 era (1814).

The fifth and sixth eras are scheduled to debut in 2005: the Gold Rush era (1859) and the Civil War era (1863).

Each era includes a story, several activities, and a “Want to Know More?” section with related historical material and links.

One of H.I.P. Pocket Change’s newest games is actually five games in one: The Lewis and Clark Adventure. The games follow the famous explorers’ trail, tying directly to the activities carried out by the Corps of Discovery in fulfilling its mission.

Inspector Collector’s Coin Course is a comprehensive course in coin collecting, and is packed with great information about the king of hobbies and fun activities to test what students have learned.

Additional lesson plans based on the Westward Journey Nickel Series™, which launched in March 2004, have been downloaded over 70,000 times to date.

For each new nickel released between 2004 and 2006, the United States Mint will release a new set of plans for grades K–6. For each year of this new coin series, the United States Mint will also release additional lessons for teachers in grades 7–12 as well as a resource guide for teachers of all grades. These lesson plans, like the new coins, are designed to expand your students’ knowledge about the Louisiana Purchase and the journey of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery.

The “State Quarter Day in the Classroom” feature provides a page of activities and links for each new quarter two weeks before it is released, including a state-specific trivia game and a WebQuest. In addition to being available on the Internet, these materials are sent to the Governor’s office, and are often distributed to local teachers; the teachers can then introduce the new coin to students and support the educational outreach at the quarter’s release celebration.

The 50 State Quarters Program lesson plans are free of charge to the American public and are designed for teachers of grades K through 12 across the nation, and can be downloaded from www.usmint.gov/kids.

February 2005 was a record month for the United States Mint H.I.P. Pocket Change Web site, as it reached the 2 million lesson plan download mark for the free 50 State Quarter® Program lesson plans. Total visits to the site also reached a record level, with a total of 203,817 visits during February – a 60% increase from last February – as the new American Bison nickel lesson plans and kindergarten to 12th grade resource guide were released. During March, the site netted a record 19,679 new nickel lesson plan downloads, up 88% from last March, and 82,174 50 State Quarters Program lesson plans, up 106% from last March.

ST. PAUL, MN - United States Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore, Governor Tim Pawlenty, state celebrities and thousands of Minnesotans gathered today at the State Capitol to launch the Minnesota commemorative quarter-dollar coin, celebrating the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” The reverse design on the new quarter depicts 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 second quarter to be released in 2005, it is the 32nd coin to be issued in the United States Mint’s popular 50 State Quarters® Program.

“The images on your quarter beckon us to Minnesota” Director Fore told the crowd. “We see a loon gliding on a tree-lined lake as two friends fish nearby. This is the first 50 States Quarter that celebrates fishing, and many of us would like to be in that little boat, baiting our hooks, listening to the haunting call of the loon.”

Joining Director Fore and Governor Pawlenty were Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Carol Molnau, Minnesota Secretary of State Mary E. Kiffmeyer, Minnesota Education Commissioner Alice Seagren, TV star Ron Schara, Minnesota Twins Great Kent Hrbek and Minnesota Vikings Great Ed McDaniel. Following the launch ceremony, coin collectors of all ages exchanged their dollar bills for rolls of Minnesota quarters.

The Lakeville High School Band, the Nativez Inc. drummers and the Minnesota Boys Choir provided the entertainment. Attractions for school children included history, science, math, and reading-oriented learning activities and a play about the importance of saving money. On the eve of the Minnesota quarter launch ceremony, Director Fore hosted a Coin Collectors Forum to discuss what the American people would like to see in their coinage.

In selecting the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” design, Governor Pawlenty chose the design recommended to him by the Minnesota State Quarter Dollar Commission. Other designs considered were the “State with Symbols,” including a snowflake, loon and plow; “Mississippi River Headwaters;” and the “Fisherman/Lake Recreation” theme.

Lesson plans about the Minnesota Quarter, the 50 State Quarters Program, and the Westward Journey Nickel Series™, may be downloaded free from the United States Mint H.I.P. Pocket Change™ website at http://www.usmint.gov/kids. Teachers, parents and students can also explore the many other teaching aids, and the games, puzzles and stories for kids that show how coins are “history in your pocket.”

The Minnesota quarter is 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, at the United States Mint website at www.usmint.gov. The two-roll sets are $32.00, bags of 100 coins are $35.50, and bags of 1,000 coins are $300.00.

WASHINGTON – The United States Mint today announced that the limited edition of 50,000 Minnesota Official First Day Coin Covers will be available online at www.usmint.gov, beginning at noon (ET) on April 25, 2005.

Priced at $19.95, the Minnesota Official First Day Coin Cover features two Minnesota commemorative quarter-dollar coins – one each bearing a mint mark from the United States Mint facilities at Philadelphia and Denver.

Struck on March 14, 2005, the first day of mintage, the quarter-dollar coins are mounted on a handsome display card with a cancelled 37-cent United States Flag postage stamp. `The postmark of “April 4, 2005, Lake City, Minnesota” marks the day the Minnesota quarter-dollars were first released to the Federal Reserve Bank and to the public.

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 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.”

Honoring the states in the order that they ratified the Constitution or were admitted into the Union, five 50 State Quarters designs will be issued each year from 1999 through 2008, at approximately 10-week intervals.

Customers can purchase the Minnesota Official First Day Coin Covers online through the United States Mint’s secure website at www.usmint.gov, or by calling toll-free 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468) 8:00 a.m. to midnight (ET), seven days a week. Hearing- and speech-impaired customers may order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468) 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday.

As an added convenience, customers can participate in a Subscription Program in which specific products, such as Official First Day Coin Covers, are charged and shipped to the customer automatically as each new quarter-dollar is released. A shipping and handling fee of $4.95 per order will be added to all orders. Please allow approximately three to four weeks for delivery.