Preparations are on target for the beginning of construction in October of new and revitalized exhibits to enhance the visitors center and tour at the Philadelphia Mint.

The new exhibit areas and displays are to be put in place and unveiled to the public sometime in the spring, according to Tom Jurkowsky, director of the U.S. Mint's Office of Public Affairs.

Designs for the new interactive, video and static displays, with audio augmentation, are currently being finalized by Quatrefoil, the Laurel, Md., firm contracted by the U.S. Mint under a $3.9 million accord inked on Aug. 18, 2010.

Abbie Chessler, Quatrefoil's co-founding partner and head of design, said Aug. 4 that the firm has been working closely with the U.S. Mint's historian, curatorial staff and other Mint personnel on the exhibit design process as well as determining which of the "heritage assets" currently on display will remain and what other items might be substituted.

"Heritage assets" represent coins, medals, models, documents and other historical items associated with production of money in general, and by the U.S. Mint and Philadelphia Mint specifically.

While the renovated, redesigned and enhanced visitors areas will still include a self-guided tour of the production floor viewed from the third floor, Chessler said the intent is to make the experience more enjoyable for the more than 250,000 people who visit the Philadelphia facility annually. The viewing area is 40 feet above the production floor.

Enhanced exhibits will also be displayed throughout the first floor lobby and second floor mezzanine.

Among the current highlights that will continue to be featured in the expansive lobby area of the fourth Philadelphia Mint are the seven glass mosaic panels � two oblong and five round � executed under the direction of Louis B. Tiffany for display at the third Philadelphia Mint on Spring Garden Street upon its opening in 1901.

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