DELAWARE QUARTER MAKES DEBUT

Caesar Rodney's horseback ride isn't as famous as Paul Revere's. But thanks to the U.S. Treasury Department, it is getting plenty of attention these days.

Rodney's ride is featured on the Delaware quarter, the first of the new quarters to be minted in honor of the nation's 50 states.

Rodney made a historic ride to Independence Hall on July 2, 1776, to cast the tie-breaking vote among Delaware delegates for independence from the British Crown.

The new quarter has started circulating in the Cape Girardeau area. It features a portrait of George Washington on one side and the state design on the other.

The Delaware quarter is the same size as the regular quarter, but it looks smaller. That's because the portrait of George Washington is 10 percent smaller.

The inscription "United States of America" and the "quarter dollar" designation have been moved from the tail side to the heads side to allow more room for the state design.

Some Cape Girardeau banks received a limited supply of the Delaware quarters last week.

"What we have received to this point we have specifically asked for," said Bill Ramsey, branch manager for Mercantile Bank on Kingshighway. "We have had several customers come by and ask if we have the new ones," said Ramsey.

The bank has been distributing most of the new coins to customers who ask for them.

Judy Meinz, branch manager for the Union Planters Bank on Kingshighway, said her bank too has had customers request the new quarters.

She said one customer said the new quarter almost looks like fake money. But there isn't anything fake about the Delaware quarter, the first change to quarters in more than 20 years.

The U.S. Mint plans to produce five different quarters each year for 10 years, one for each of the states.

The quarters are being issued in the order that each state ratified the U.S. Constitution or was admitted into the Union.

"A new quarter is coming out every 10 weeks for the next 10 years," said Charles Henderson, spokesman for the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis.

The bank distributes money to banks in parts of a seven-state area, including eastern Missouri.

Henderson said the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis has ordered about $2 million worth of the new Delaware quarters to distribute to banks in eastern Missouri.

In addition to Delaware, new quarters for this year include ones honoring Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia and Connecticut.

In this region, the Kentucky quarter is slated to be minted in 2001. Tennessee will be among the states featured in 2002.

New quarters recognizing Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas are on tap for 2003.

Hawaii will be the last state to be honored. That will occur in 2008.

The regular quarter won't be minted again until 2009, said Michael White, a spokesman for the U.S. Mint in Washington.

"We are minting them in both Philadelphia and Denver so we get wide distribution,' said White.

Each state quarter will be produced for about 10 weeks. Once the production run has been completed, there won't be any more of that coin design issued.

In all, about 750 million of each state quarter could be minted, bringing the total production to as much as 3.5 billion quarters a year, White said. Typically, the mints produce about 1.5 billion quarters a year. But the new state quarters could increase demand.

"We mint to demand," said White.

The Treasury Department conducted a feasibility study prior to establishing the state quarters program. The study found that 75 percent of respondents were interested in collecting the new quarters, said White.

The first proof sets, uncirculated sets and silver proof sets of the new coins are expected out this spring.