Utah quarter is hot off the press

The U.S. Mint has produced coins for each of the 50 states in the order they were granted statehood. Utah's quarter is the 45th state coin to be released since the program began in 1999. Five more will be released in 2008 before the Mint returns to production of the standard eagle quarter.

The quarters are made in mints in Denver and Philadelphia before being shipped to the Federal Reserve for distribution. The Denver facility makes five to eight million quarters a day.

Production levels are based on demand, so it's unclear how many of the Utah quarters will ultimately make their way into the Beehive State.

The demand for Utah quarters is definitely there, said state Sen. Kevin Van Tassell, R-Vernal, who drove from Vernal to attend the Monday event. Van Tassell is manager of the Vernal Zions Bank office, and said he's been getting inquiries about the state coin for some time.

"I've never seen people so excited about something," he said. "I took calls last week, 'Are the Utah quarters in yet?' "

The bank has already requested three boxes of the Utah quarter, though he's not sure it will receive that many. Each box contains $300 worth of quarters.

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