Helena, Montana - United States Mint Director Edmund C. Moy today joined Governor Brian Schweitzer; First Lady Nancy Schweitzer; Gary Marks, member of the Montana Quarter Design Selection Commission; and Blackfeet singer and songwriter Jack Gladstone, to introduce the Montana commemorative quarter-dollar in a ceremony at the Helena Civic Center. The Helena High Ambiance Choir led the audience in the State song, a Native American drum group provided an honor song and the Capitol High Jazz Band entertained before and after the ceremony.

The Montana commemorative quarter-dollar coin, released to the American public today, features images of a bison skull hovering in the sky over mountainous terrain. The Montana quarter is the 41st introduced by the United States Mint in its popular 50 State Quarters® Program.

“Montana’s history recalls a state composed of vast landscapes, mountains and high plains, big sky and bison, all of which are represented on the Montana quarter we launch today,” said Director Moy. “The bison skull is an evocative image of the American West, its bounty and hardships, familiar to Montanans as a symbol of their own rugged and resilient nature.”

The reverse of the Montana quarter bears the inscriptions “Big Sky Country,” “Montana” and “1889,” the year Montana was admitted into the Union, becoming our Nation’s 41st state. The Montana quarter is the first commemorative quarter-dollar released in 2007.

Following the ceremony, Director Moy and Governor and First Lady Schweitzer handed out shiny, new Montana quarters to the children in the crowd. Adults lined up to exchange their bills for $10 rolls of Montana quarters.

For images of the new Montana quarter, please click here.

Free United States Mint lesson plans about the Montana quarter-dollar may be downloaded at www.usmint.gov/kids.

For a SATELLITE FEED of the Montana Quarter Launch (News media only): Monday, January 29 TIME 3:30 – 4 p.m. ET., Coordinates: IA 5/13 DL 3960V. Tuesday, January 30, 10:30 – 10:45 a.m. ET, Coordinates IA 5/13 DL 3960V.