Mint's Web site a learning boost

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Coin collecting provides a rich history of the world and potentially lucrative hobby for the numismatist in the family as he acquires pieces of engraved metal from diverse countries and ancient civilizations.

To assist the younger collector on his quest, the U.S. Mint took a 1997 presidential mandate to "enrich the Internet as a learning tool" and birthed an educational cyber stop in 1999. The site combines free resources for educators and a myriad of multimedia activities for children to raise appreciation for the coins used every day and for the teaching tools that the coins can be.

H.I.P. Pocket Change

Site address:www.usmint.gov/kids/

Creator: The U.S. Mint, founded in 1792 and headquartered in Washington, developed and maintains the site.

Creator quotable: "We are extremely proud of our educational children's site. When children hold a new coin from the Westward Journey Nickel Series or the 50 State Quarters Program, they hold a small piece of history, art and culture in their hands. H.I.P. Pocket Change helps children appreciate the unique part that coins play in our nation's heritage," U.S. Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore says.

Word from the Webwise: H.I.P. stands for "history in your pocket," and the site does a fantastic job in offering a wealth of interactive information on the U.S. brand of metallic currency and the use of coins throughout their existence.

An animated presentation on the front page allows visitors to move their mouse point over multicolored coins representing the sections Games, Cartoons, Time Machine, Coin News, Camp Coin, Teachers and About Us as a floating box moves to the center of the screen to describe each.

Sections are also hosted by such characters as Plinky the Mint Pig, Nero the Mint Police Dog and Goldie the Mint Fish, who guide children through enlightening, colorful and fact-filled pages.

For example, Peter the Mint Eagle spearheads one of the site's more impressive offerings as he and his pals take visitors on a journey in his Time Machine. The journey covers the history of the United States and its connection to its coins spanning 10 periods, from 1667 through today.