PLYMOUTH - State officials and area students celebrated the unveiling of the 2013 White Mountain National Forest quarter, just the 16th coin to be created and produced for the America the Beautiful Quarters Program.

United States Mint Acting Director Richard Peterson recounted his time in New Hampshire when he was a U.S. Naval serving on a nuclear submarine.

"My car climbed Mount Washington, and I do have the bumper sticker to prove it. I put it on our car right next to the license plate that says 'Live Free or Die.' Think about those words. Those words evoke the same spirit as 'liberty,' which is the driving force behind what makes America great and evoked the iconic spirit of New Hampshire."

"It's fitting that we're here for this tribute to our beloved White Mountains," Congresswoman Ann McLane Kuster (NH2), said, "and for all of you who consider this home, it's our chance to share the beauty with literally millions of Americans. We can be in the pockets of people all across the country."

Kuster noted that it was just last weekend she and Gov. Maggie Hassan were at the opening of the Museum of the White Mountains. The museum, located on the university campus, opens to the public Feb. 23.

Asked what they would do with their coins, several students in a group of third graders from Plymouth agreed that they would not be spending their coins, but would keep them in the boxes they came in.

After the program, adults could trade their cash in for $10 rolls of quarters, provided by the Meredith Savings Bank. Littleton Coin Company, partnering with the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, has released a special edition pack of the coin.


syoungknox@newstote.com