WASHINGTON – The United States Mint today announced that the limited edition of 75,000 Florida Official First Day Coin Covers will be available online at www.usmint.gov, beginning at noon (E.T.) on April 26, 2004.

Priced at $19.95, the Florida Official First Day Coin Cover, which is also available through the United States Mint’s Subscription Program, features two Florida commemorative quarter-dollars – one each bearing a mint mark from the United States Mint at Philadelphia and Denver.

Struck on March 1, 2004, the first day of mintage, the quarter-dollar coins are mounted on a handsome display card with a cancelled 37-cent United States Flag postage stamp.

The postmark of “March 29, 2004” marks the day the Florida quarter-dollars were first released to the Federal Reserve Bank and to the public. The Florida quarter-dollar is the 27th in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program, which honors the states in the order that they ratified the Constitution or were admitted into the Union. Five state designs will be issued each year through 2008, at approximately 10-week intervals.

On March 3, 1845, Florida became the 27th state to be admitted into the Union. The design incorporates a Spanish galleon, a space shuttle and the inscription “Gateway to Discovery.” A strip of land with sabal palm trees is also depicted.

Florida, home to the Kennedy Space Center, has been the starting point for most of the modern era’s most significant scientific space expeditions – from Man’s first moon landing to the Voyager probe currently exploring deep space outside our solar system. From 16th-century Spanish galleons to 21st-century space exploration, Florida has been the stage for humanity’s quest for knowledge and discovery.

Customers can purchase the Florida Official First Day Coin Covers online through the United States Mint’s secure website at www.usmint.gov, or by calling toll-free 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468) 8:00 a.m. to midnight (E.T.), seven days a week. Hearing- and speech-impaired customers may order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468) 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (E.T.), Monday through Friday.

As an added convenience, customers can participate in a Subscription Program in which specific products, such as Official First Day Coin Covers, are charged and shipped to the customer automatically as each new state quarter-dollar is released. A shipping and handling fee of $4.95 per order will be added to all orders. Please allow approximately three to four weeks for delivery.