Thomas Edison had a lot of bright ideas, but you could say the light bulb was his brightest!  It sure took a lot of work to find something that would burn long enough to make it worthwhile.  But now, 125 years later, all that work lights up all of our lives.

To honor Edison, "the Wizard of Menlo Park," the United States Mint will make a silver dollar that marks this great invention.  See the coin's design and read more about it in the Coin News area.

You can see that Thomas Jefferson is pictured on the front of the nickel.  You can see also that the grand home Jefferson designed and built for himself is on the back.  That home, called "Monticello," has been pictured there for more than 60 years.  But it won't stay there for long!  Soon Jefferson's portrait will be backed with images of events from 200 years ago.

The nickel is the perfect coin on which to celebrate these events because President Jefferson played a major role in both of them.  The first event is the Louisiana Purchase, in which Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from France.  This about doubled the land area of the United States.  The design features the Peace Medal that Jefferson had made as gifts to Native American chiefs.

The second event is the Lewis and Clark expedition, which delivered the Peace Medals.  Jefferson formed the expedition to explore the new territory, make friends with the native peoples, and take careful notes about everything they saw and learned during the trip.  The design features the expedition's keelboat with some of the crew aboard.

In 2004, the two new nickel designs will be minted and released for everyone to enjoy.  You'll still know the nickel because President Jefferson will look the same on the front.  But if you miss seeing Monticello on the back, don't worry.  Jefferson's beloved home is scheduled to reappear on the nickel in 2006.  Meantime, check out our special "New Nickels" page in the Coin News area by clicking here.

The release of quarter number 26 begins the second half of the 50 State Quarters Program in January.  The state that this quarter features is Michigan, the "Great Lakes State."  This nickname fits Michigan so well because the lakes practically surround the state.  Michigan is the only state that touches four of the five Great Lakes, so of course they have been important to the state's history and growth.

But Goldie the Mint Fish has all this neat information covered in her Coin News area.  Go to "The Coins Are Coming" and read more about the state and its new quarter!