WASHINGTON, June 25, 2002 - The United States Mint today announced it will discontinue sales of its recently released 1999-2001 Proof Set Collection because of newly-discovered deterioration that affected a number of sets, apparently during storage.

Evidence of tarnishing and spotting on certain coins in the 1999 Proof Sets has exceeded acceptable quality standards. As a consequence of this evaluation, sales of the sets have been discontinued.

"It is unfortunate that initial inventory inspections earlier this year failed to uncover the damage, and we regret any inconvenience this may have caused to our customers," said David Pickens, Associate Director for Sales and Marketing. "The United States Mint is committed to the strictest quality standards - anything less is unacceptable." All remaining 1999-2001 Proof Sets will be destroyed.

The United States Mint has no numismatic inventory of proof sets, uncirculated sets, or silver sets that will be offered. The rationale for this offer was that a 10-year program would require the Mint to offer "catch-up sets" like the 1999-2001 bundle. This inventory was held back for future collectors; however, no further sets will be inventoried in the future.

Those 1999-2001 Proof Set Collection orders received prior to June 13, 2002, will be processed. However, the United States Mint stands behind all its products with a 30-day "no-questions-asked" customer satisfaction policy: Customers may return products for a return or replacement within 30 days of receiving the product if they are dissatisfied with their purchase.

For additional information on how to obtain a refund, customers are encouraged to visit the United States Mint's secure website at http://www.usmint.gov/catalog. If they prefer, customers can contact a United States Mint customer service representative by calling 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing and speech impaired customers may call 1-888-321-MINT (6468) (TTY).