Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Mint today announced that a limited edition of 100,000 New York Official First Day Coin Covers will be available online at www.USMINT.gov. at 12:00 noon Eastern Time on February 12, 2001. The Official First Day Coin Covers feature two New York quarters from the first day of mintage -- December 11, 2000.

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

The postmark of “January 2, 2001, Albany, New York” marks the day the New York quarters were first released to the Federal Reserve and the public - certifying this limited edition and honoring “The Empire State.” The New York quarter reverse design features the Statue of Liberty superimposed over an outline of New York State with the inscription “Gateway to Freedom.” A line tracing the Hudson River and the route of the Erie Canal is incorporated into the outline of the state, with eleven stars circling the coin signifying New York as the eleventh state.

The New York quarter is the 11th coin of the 50 State Quarters™ Program that honors each of the 50 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 New York quarters 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) 344-4150. Fourth, mail orders may be sent to U.S. Mint, Customer Care Center, Lanham, MD 20706-4331 (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 (301) 344-4144 TDD. Please allow approximately 6-8 weeks for delivery.