State-Quarter.com

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.

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.

New Plans Latest in Line of 50 State Quarters® Curriculum Materials

WASHINGTON—The United States Mint has posted its new set of 50 State Quarters® Program lesson plans for 2005.

Click here to download the plans for free from the United States Mint website. The plans feature the California, Minnesota, Kansas, Oregon and West Virginia commemorative quarter-dollar coins to be released this year.

The 50 State Quarters series of lesson plans has been used by thousands of teachers across the country since the popular initiative began in 1999.

“When coins are used to teach not only addition and subtraction, but also art, history, geography and financial literacy, they become keys to a broader world,” said United States Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore. “Coins are a great teaching tool, and our lesson plans reinforce their educational value.”

The United States Mint H.I.P. Pocket Change™ website at www.usmint.gov/kids originally featured lesson plans that were designed for grades K through 6. The plans were recently expanded to include grades 7 through 12. The site also offers many other educational resources, such as Teacher Features (classroom activities designed to support games and other features on the site) and the Time Machine (animated, interactive trips to important events in American history).

Created and reviewed by teachers to meet national curricular standards, the United States Mint lesson plans draw upon the reverse designs of the 50 State Quarters coins to inspire students to learn about the culture, geography, and unique heritage of each state. Each set of lesson plans blends clear instructions with student-friendly reproducible worksheets, background information and answer keys to help make instruction easier for educators.

Also, watch the site for the new Westward Journey Nickel Series™ lesson plans as the coins are released during 2005. These plans will join the nickel lesson plans already available for the 2004 designs.

For more information, free educational resources, games, and lesson plans from previous years, visit www.usmint.gov/kids.