SACAGAWEA DOLLAR COIN ANNOUNCEMENT

    The United States Mint formally announced the alloy for the new gold colored Sacagawea dollar coin on October 5, 1999. The Mint worked closely with Coinco Acceptors, Inc. and other companies in the industry to find a gold colored alloy that would be accepted in the majority of devices that already accept the Susan B. Anthony dollar that was first introduced in 1979. Since the Susan B. Anthony dollar will remain in circulation even after the introduction of the Sacagawea dollar, finding an alloy that met the requirements of the Mint in color and size and still resembled the electronic signature of the Anthony dollar in vending machines was very challenging. Many alloys were tried until the one chosen was finally identified.

Tests indicate that the new coin will be accepted in all of the electronic acceptors Coin Acceptors has produced over the last 15 years. These products include the 3300 and the 9300 series electronic changers, older 880 style electronic acceptors and the new Coinco Global® 4-tube changers.

The alloy chosen by the Mint is a new coinage alloy for the United States and uses new metals such as manganese in its formula. Coin Acceptors has developed technology that provides a higher level of performance in detecting coinage alloys and has been successfully used in Canada for several years. It will soon be included in the 9300 series in the U.S. in order to provide the benefits of this technology in all of the products we supply. This will obsolete the 3300 series single-price changers, but they will be replaced by a 9300 series equivalent.

Sincerely,

James C. Douglass
Vice President of Marketing