If the history of the United States Mint were laid out on a scroll and then sealed up in a cool interactive Flash frame, it would probably look a lot like “Historic Highlights.”  This timeline has been around the H.I.P. Pocket Change site for a good while now, and yet it's brand new in 2008!

The look and feel of Historic Highlights has totally changed.  Steer through the new images as they glide by on a minty green background.  Choose from groups of decades along the bottom of the screen.  Notice the many historic milestones that have been added to provide a more complete picture of how far the United States Mint has come and how it got where it is today.

So take a scroll through our history using the "Historic Highlights" timeline!

Wondering what coin surprises 2009 holds in store?  Well, you can get an idea right here at the United States Mint H.I.P. Pocket Change™ Web site!

As you can imagine, it takes some time to make new coin designs…to pass the laws, create the images, sculpt the designs, and turn the sculptures into metal stamps that make tons of coins!  So, here in the summer of 2008, we're right in the middle of the process.  Three programs for circulating coins have been created by law (Acts of Congress) and the design process is under way.

Although it will be a while before the actual images can be seen, we can tell you what these new designs will be about:  the life of Lincoln, the District of Columbia and US territories, and historic contributions of Native Americans.

They're all described in the “Circulating Coins” section, on the pages for each denomination.  Just look for the special 2009 sections on the One-Cent Coin page, the Twenty-Five-Cent Coin page, and the One-Dollar Coin page.  Read the story near the bottom of each page and be ready for the change in your change in 2009!

Which game on the United States Mint H.I.P. Pocket Change™ Web site was played most often between the beginning of January and the end of December of 2007?  In this game, players answered true-or-false questions to fill a piggy bank, then broke the bank open using a variety of weapons.

Can you name the game?  Maybe you've played it yourself.  If not, maybe you should!  It's called "Break the Bank," the top game of 2007!

Here are the other nine from 2007's “top ten” list:

2. Cents of Color
3. Arrows of Knowledge
4. When Pigs Fly
5. Dollar Dive
6. Coin Memory Game
7. Winter Coin Olympics
8. Making Change
9. Wishing Well
10. Branches of Power

Check out these and many more on the Games page. Every game you play casts a vote.  Which one do you think will be the most popular game of 2008?

This quarter's quarter is the Arizona quarter, a design that features a great landscape and the saguaro cactus.  Flip the Mint Seal had the honor of presenting this coin as June's Coin of the Month.

It must have been hard to capture something as huge as the Grand Canyon in an image the size of a quarter…but despite its vastness, the Canyon holds hidden treasures, as Flip explained.

The Arizona quarter page tells even more about the Grand Canyon and a little about the saguaro cactus.  This cactus lives many years and can get dozens of feet tall.  No wonder it's one of the major features in the Southwestern landscape and part of the supporting cast in so many Western movies!