Print this page and keep it with your folder. Check the box when you find each coin in change. Remember that each design comes from two mints, Philadelphia (P) and Denver (D), and the mint mark is on the front, behind Washington's ponytail. Young members: bring your checklist to the YN Corner and Mrs. Durbin will initial every coin you've found.

On the new quarters, "United States of America" and "Quarter Dollar" have moved to the front with Washington, to make room on the back for the state's design, its name, the year it joined the Union and the year the coin was made.

Proofs. The San Francisco mint makes proof coins of each design, with an S mint mark and mirror-like fields. You won't find them in change. They are sold by the Mint in the 1999 proof sets and in special sets of the five state quarters alone. These are nice to have, but they are not needed for a complete set from circulation.

A note on the Delaware. At the September meeting several members said they still haven't found a 1999-P Delaware in El Paso change. Neither have I. If you have two, the YN table would be very grateful for one.

The designs for next year's states haven't all been announced yet. After 2000 the Mint keeps going at five a year, in order, until all fifty are done. Texas, the 28th state, comes in the sixth year. That's a long time to wait, and a good reason to start a child collecting now: by the time our state's quarter comes out, the ten-year-olds in the club will be nearly old enough to drive to the bank for it.

Keeping them nice

• Hold a coin by its edges, never by its faces. The oil on your fingers leaves prints that never come off.
• Coins from a fresh bank roll are uncirculated. Coins from your pocket are not, however shiny they look. Both are worth saving.
• For your best coins, use cardboard 2x2 holders (with the Mylar window) or plastic flips made for coins. Write the date and mint on the holder.
• Don't store coins in old PVC plastic or in a damp place, and don't keep them in the bottom of a jar with your keys.
• And, as always: never clean them.