Yesterday, the United States Mint issued the third series of 2009 quater dollar coins. The Guam Official First Day Coin Cover features two Guam commemorative quarter-dollar coins, one each bearing the mint mark from the United States Mint facilities at Philadelphia and Denver. In 2009, the United States Mint will mint and issue six quarter-dollar coins in honor of the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories: the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. These coins will be issued in equal sequential intervals in 2009 in the order listed. The image of George Washington as seen on the obverse of the 50 State Quarters® coins will remain unchanged. The reverse of each quarter will be distinctly different with images emblematic of the District of Columbia and each of the territories.
The Guam Official First Day Coin Cover
WASHINGTON - The United States Mint will begin accepting orders for the Guam Official First Day Coin Cover on July 28, 2009, at noon Eastern Time (ET). Production is limited to 25,000 units.
Priced at $14.95 each, the Guam Official First Day Coin Cover features two Guam commemorative quarter-dollar coins, one each bearing the mint mark from the United States Mint facilities at Philadelphia and Denver. The quarters are mounted on a handsome display card in an envelope with a 44-cent United States Flag postage stamp. The postmark of MAY 26, 2009, HAGATNA, GU marks the day the Guam quarters were first released to the Federal Reserve Bank and to the public.
The reverse (tails side) of the Guam commemorative quarter depicts the outline of the island, a flying proa (a seagoing craft built by the Chamorro people), and a latte stone (an architectural element used as the base of homes). Inscriptions include GUAM and Guahan I Tanó ManChamorro ("Guam - Land of the Chamorro").
Orders for the Guam Official First Day Coin Cover will be accepted at www.usmint.gov/catalog or at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may place their orders at 1-888-321-MINT (6468). A shipping and handling fee of $4.95 will be added to all domestic orders.
Source: usmint.gov
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Here is the story about Guam that I found in usmint website:
The Guam quarter is the third in the 2009 District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program. Initial Western contact with Guam occurred when explorer Ferdinand Magellan reached the southernmost Mariana Islands in 1521. From 1668 to 1815, it served as a way station for Spanish Acapulco-to-Manilla ships. Spanish rule of Guam came to an end when American forces secured the island during the Spanish-American War. During World War II, the Japanese seized Guam and occupied it for more than two years, with American forces recapturing it in 1944. Under the Organic Act of 1950, the people of Guam became American citizens and established a local government.
The Guam quarter reverse design depicts the outline of the island, a flying proa (a seagoing craft built by the Chamorro people), a latte stone (an architectural element used as the base of homes) and the inscriptions, GUAM and Guahan I Tanó ManChamorro, which means "Guam - Land of the Chamorro." The proa represents the endurance, fortitude and discovery of the Chamorro people. The vessel, made by expert carvers and sailed by master navigators, is admired as a technical marvel. The latte speaks to a historic icon that hails from the Micronesian area. Chamorro is one of the official languages of Guam, and its usage is enjoying a renaissance there and on the Mariana Islands.
Guam Governor Felix P. Camacho solicited and reviewed reverse design narratives from the public, narrowing hundreds of submissions down to two – the outline of the Island of Guam with a flying proa and latte stone and a flying proa at sail, a coconut tree bending toward the water and Two Lovers Point in the background. These narratives were forwarded to the United States Mint for the production of artistic renderings, which were then proposed to the territory. Through a public vote, the island, flying proa and latte stone design was recommended for the Guam quarter, and the Secretary of the Treasury approved it on July 31, 2008.
Source: usmint.gov
