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Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Mint today announced a limited edition of 75,000 Vermont Official First Day Coin Covers available online at www.USMINT.gov beginning 12:00 noon Eastern Time on Monday, September 10, 2001. The Official First Day Coin Cover features two Vermont quarters from the first day of mintage - July 23, 2001.

Priced at $19.95, the Official First Day Coin Cover includes quarters from both the Philadelphia and Denver Mint facilities on a handsome display card with the 34-cent Statue of Liberty postage stamp.

The postmark of “August 6, 2001, Montpelier, Vermont” marks the day Vermont quarters were released to the Federal Reserve Bank and the public - certifying this limited edition and honoring America’s “Green Mountain State.” The coin’s design features two maple trees being tapped and one of Vermont’s most significant landmarks, Camel’s Hump Mountain, in the background. The design also carries the inscription, “Freedom and Unity.”

The Vermont quarter is the 14th in the 50 State Quarters™ Program that honors each of the states in the order they entered the union. Five state designs will be issued each year through 2008 at approximately 10-week intervals.

Customers can purchase the Vermont Official First Day Coin Covers four ways: First, they can save shipping and handling charges by using the Mint’s secure web site www.USMINT.gov; second, they can call 1-800-USA-MINT; third, they may download an order form at the web site and fax it to (301) 918-2039; fourth, mail orders may be sent to U.S. Mint, P.O. Box 382601, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-8601 (Attention: Order Processing). A shipping and handling fee of $3.95 per order will be added to all fax, mail and telephone orders for these products. Hearing and speech impaired customers may order by calling (888) 321-MINT (TTY). Please allow approximately 3 to 4 weeks for delivery.

Latest state quarter honors maple industry

Montpelier, VT – The entire country received a taste of Vermont today as the U.S. Mint debuted the 14th state quarter in the 50 State Quarters™ Program. Governor Howard Dean and U.S. Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore led the national celebration at the Vermont State House in a ceremony that honored an industry that is synonymous with the state’s history – the maple syrup industry.

The quarter honoring the “Green Mountain State” features two maple trees with a view of one of Vermont’s most significant landmarks, Camel’s Hump Mountain and the inscription, “Freedom and Unity.”

“As the nation’s largest producer of maple syrup, it is fitting that the Vermont quarter honors the people and the industry that have contributed so much to the state in its 210-year history,” said Henrietta Holsman Fore, Director of the U.S. Mint. “Vermonters should be proud of the coin and the place it now takes in the 50 State Quarters Program.”

Governor Dean selected the design after an extensive 18-month process led by the Vermont Arts Council. Working with the U.S. Mint, the Council narrowed the proposed designs to three, giving the Governor the final vote in choosing the winner. To help him, the Governor asked Vermonters for their opinions during his public appearances around the state.

“Last summer, as I traveled around talking to Vermonters,” the Governor said, “the maple sugaring scene was everyone’s favorite design throughout the state. I’m happy and proud that it was chosen so clearly by the people of Vermont because it reflects our rural heritage and highlights our beautiful landscape. I’m sure this coin, like our state, will be valued by everyone for a long time.”

Residents from throughout the state participated in the State House launch ceremony. A children’s choir opened the event by singing the new state song. The launch also featured a video telling the story of the quarter design and two students read from their winning essays on the importance of maple syrup in Vermont’s history.

Following the ceremony, the Vermont Department of Agriculture offered a taste of Vermont, selling sugar snow from the Sugar Shack, maple cotton candy, maple creamies and maple popcorn. Buyers at the sale, proceeds from which will benefit the Department’s education fund, received the new Vermont quarter in change.

The release of the Vermont quarter marked the end of production of the Rhode Island quarter, released in May 2001. The quarters are manufactured at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints, which produce all U.S. circulating coins and ship them to the Federal Reserve for distribution to the nation’s banks.

Launched in 1999, the U.S. Mint’s 50 State Quarters Program is a 10-year initiative that honors each of the nation’s states in the order that they joined the Union or ratified the Constitution. Each quarter is produced for about 10 weeks and will never be produced again. Over 125 million adults are collecting the quarters.

The 50 State Quarters products, including the just-released collectible proof sets featuring the five quarters of 2001, are adding to the collecting fun. These products and more information about the 50 State Quarters Program are available through the Mint’s Web site at www.usmint.gov or by calling 1-800-USA-MINT.

Created by Congress in 1792, the U.S. Mint today is the world’s largest manufacturer of coins, medals and coin-based consumer products. In 2000, the Mint produced more than 27 billion coins, fulfilling its primary mission to produce an adequate supply of circulating coinage for the nation’s commerce. The Mint has grown to a Fortune 500-sized manufacturing and international marketing enterprise with more than $3.7 billion in annual revenue and 2,800 employees.

Washington, DC, July 23, 2001 — The U.S. Mint announced today that circulating quarters with a reverse design honoring Vermont will be sold online beginning August 6, 2001, at 12:00 noon (ET) and ending August 9, 2001, at 12:00 noon (ET). The Vermont quarters are available in two-roll sets (40 coins per roll), including one Philadelphia and Denver Mint Mark coin roll each, and in bags of 100 and 1,000 coins.

Collectors will have 72 hours to purchase two-roll sets and bags of the newest quarters. The Vermont quarter is the fourth coin struck for the year 2001 under the 50 State Quarters™ Program. The Vermont quarter features Camel’s Hump Mountain with an image of maple trees with sap buckets in the forefront. The design honors the “Green Mountain State,” the first state admitted to the Union after the original 13 colonies.

Vermont is most famous for its skiing and the production of maple sugar and syrup. Until the 1800s when cane sugar was introduced, Americans relied on Vermont’s maple sugar for much of its sugar supply. Camel’s Hump Mountain, in the northern half of Vermont’s Green Mountains, is easily recognized by its unique double-humped profile and is one of the highest peaks in Vermont.

Each coin roll is wrapped in a specially designed U.S. Mint paper coin wrap that prominently displays the 50 State Quarters™ Program logo, a “P” or “D” representing the roll’s mint of origin, “VT” designating the state of Vermont and “$10” representing its dollar value. Each bag is marked with the Mint of origin and the dollar value of its contents ($25 or $250). Two roll sets will sell for $32.00, bags of 100 coins for $35.50, and bags of 1,000 coins for $300. These rolls and bags, featuring quarters used in regular transactions and struck on our main production floors at the Philadelphia and Denver Mint facilities, will be shipped directly to you from the U.S. Mint. Note that there are no order limits on these products.

Customers can purchase the Vermont quarters three ways. First, they can save shipping and handling charges by ordering online using the Mint’s secure website at www.USMINT.gov/catalog. Second, they may call 1-800-USA-MINT. Third, they may download a fax order form from the website and fax it to (301) 918-2039. A shipping and handling fee of $3.95 per order will be added to all telephone and fax orders for these products. Hearing and speech-impaired customers may order by calling (301) 344-4144 TTY. Please allow approximately 6-8 weeks for delivery.