State-Quarter.com

WASHINGTON – The United States Mint today announced that the limited edition of 75,000 Michigan Official First Day Coin Covers will be available online at www.usmint.gov, beginning at noon (E.T.) on March 11, 2004. The availability of this product was temporarily delayed in February.

Priced at $19.95, the Michigan Official First Day Coin Cover, which is also available through the United States Mint’s Subscription Program, features two Michigan commemorative quarter-dollar coins – one each bearing a mint mark from the United States Mint facilities at Philadelphia and Denver. Struck on January 5, 2004, 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 “JAN 26, 2004, DETROIT RIVER STATION, DETROIT, MI, 48222” marks the day the Michigan quarter-dollar coins were first released to the Federal Reserve Bank and to the public. The Michigan quarter is the 26th in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program, which honors the states in the order that they ratified the U.S. Constitution or were admitted into the Union. Five state designs will be issued each year through 2008, at approximately 10-week intervals.

On January 26, 1837, Michigan became the 26th state to be admitted into the Union. The Michigan quarter depicts a textured outline of the State and the Great Lakes system. The quarter is inscribed “Great Lakes State”. Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes, more than any other state.

Customers can purchase the Michigan 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 (E.T.), 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. (E.T.), 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 state quarter 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.

6th Quarter, Honoring Michigan, Kicks Off Second Half of 50 State Quarters® Program

Lansing, Michigan –United States Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and a host of dignitaries officially launched the Michigan commemorative quarter-dollar coin into circulation today from the steps of the State Capitol. The new Michigan quarter-dollar is the first to be issued in 2004 and the 26th quarter of the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program. It inaugurates the second half of the 10-year initiative, the most popular coin program in U.S. history. Children who attended today’s ceremony received shiny new Michigan quarters. Bank representatives were also on hand to exchange bills and coins for Michigan quarters.

Exactly 167 years ago today, on January 26th, 1837, Michigan became the 26th state to be admitted into the Union. The Michigan quarter depicts a textured outline of the State and the Great Lakes system. The quarter is inscribed “Great Lakes State.” Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes, more than any other state. Standing anywhere in Michigan, a person is within 85 miles of one of the Great Lakes.

“With this quarter, the citizens of Michigan are recognizing the importance of the Great Lakes to Michigan’s history, economy and environment,” said Director Fore. “When Americans pull this quarter out of their pockets, it will provide them with a tremendous geography and history lesson.”

In November 2001, former Governor John Engler established the 25-member Michigan Quarter Commission. The Commission chose five candidate design concepts after receiving more than 4,300 from the State’s residents. Governor Engler forwarded the candidates to the United States Mint. After review by the Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, and approval by the Secretary of the Treasury, they were returned to Governor Granholm for a final recommendation. Following consultation with the Michigan Quarter Commission, Governor Granholm chose the “Great Lakes State” design.

Michigan quarters in two-roll sets and bags go on sale beginning at 12:00 noon today on the United States Mint’s website at www.usmint.gov, and by calling 1-800-USA-MINT. Lesson plans can also be downloaded from the website. The plans feature the Michigan state quarter and the 25 previous 50 State Quarters coins issued so far.

Launched in 1999, the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters Program is a 10-year initiative that honors each of the states in the order they ratified the Constitution or were admitted into the Union. Each quarter is produced for about 10 weeks and will never be produced again. Surveys show that more than 130 million adults collect the quarters.

Created by Congress in 1792, the United States Mint is the manufacturer of legal tender coinage for the United States. In FY 2003, the United States Mint manufactured approximately 11.4 billion coins and generated revenue of $1.4 billion. For more information, and to download high resolution images of the Michigan quarter, please visit www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?action=photo#SQ2004

WASHINGTON, January 14 — The United States Mint announced today that quarter-dollar coins honoring Michigan, the first coin in the 50 State Quarters® Program to be released in 2004, will go on sale beginning January 26, 2004, at 12:00 noon (Eastern Time), and will be available for purchase during the 10-week release period. The Michigan quarters are available in two-roll sets (40 coins per roll), including one Philadelphia and one Denver mint mark coin roll each, and in bags of 100 and 1,000 coins. The Michigan quarters are also available as part of the United States Mint’s popular Subscription Program.

Michigan became the 26th state on January 26, 1837. The Michigan quarter design depicts the outline of the State and the Great Lakes system. The quarter is inscribed “Great Lakes State.” As indicated by the State’s nickname, Michigan’s history is tied to the Great Lakes – Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario – five of the world’s largest lakes that, together, encompass more than 38,000 square miles and form the largest body of fresh water in the world. Michigan borders four of these Lakes, all but Ontario, more than any other state.

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, “MI” designating the State of Michigan, 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 two-roll sets 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 from the United States Mint to customers. There is no order limit on these products.

Customers can purchase the Michigan quarters 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. 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 state 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 also have an additional charge of $7.95 per bag because of their weight and size.