Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Mint today announced that the limited edition of 75,000 Tennessee Official First Day Coin Covers will be available online at www.USMINT.gov beginning 12:00 noon Eastern Time on February 11, 2002. The Tennessee Official First Day Coin Cover features two Tennessee quarters from the first day of mintage – December 10, 2001.

Priced at $19.95, the Tennessee Official First Day Coin Cover includes quarters from both the Philadelphia and Denver Mint facilities on a handsome display card with the 34-cent United We Stand postage stamp.

The postmark of “January 2, 2002, Memphis, Tennessee” marks the day Tennessee quarters were released to the Federal Reserve Bank and the public - certifying this limited edition and honoring America’s “Volunteer State.” The Tennessee design features a trumpet, a fiddle, a guitar, and a musical score, symbolizing the State’s many contributions to American music, with the inscription “Musical Heritage” and three stars for each geographical region of the state. The fiddle represents the Appalachian music of East Tennessee, the guitar the country music of Nashville in Central Tennessee, and the trumpet the blues of West Tennessee.

The Tennessee quarter is the 16th in the 50 State Quarters Program that honors each of the 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 Tennessee Official First Day Coin Covers 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) 918-2039; fourth, mail orders may be sent to U.S. Mint, P.O. Box 382601, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-8601 (Attention: Order Processing).

As an added convenience, customers may order future Official First Day Coin Covers online through the Mint’s subscription program.

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 (888) 321-MINT (TTY). Please allow approximately 3 to 4 weeks for delivery.