Speaking of stages, viewers watching Thursday's New York City Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade were treated to the sight of a special U.S. Mint float promoting the 50 States Quarter series. Atop the float was an antique U.S. Mint Police stagecoach from the Denver Mint. And atop the stagecoach (I am not making this up...) was singer Tito Puente, Jr, belting out (or was it lip-syncing?) a tune. You don't see THAT every day...

A search of the U.S Mint web site turned up a press release for last year's Macy's parade. Then, the float was promoting the Sacagawea dollar coin.

"November 25, 1999 - The U.S. Mint became the first government agency to sponsor a float in the 73rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Approximately 60 million viewers were able to catch a glimpse of the new Golden Dollar featuring Sacagawea, only one week after coin production began at The U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. The Golden Dollar coin float, sporting a Denver Mint antique stagecoach, glided majestically from New York City's Central Park toward Herald Square. Actors dressed in vintage U.S. Mint Police uniforms escorted the coach and five-foot replicas of the Golden Dollar..."

To find the full press release and see a picture of the stagecoach float, go to http://www.usmint.gov/ and enter "stagecoach" in the search box.

And while it has nothing to do with numismatics, a related story from USA Today shows what can happen when parade floats run amok: "Meanwhile a woman who is seeking damages from the city and Macy's after she was injured during the store's 1997 Thanksgiving Day Parade has sued five more defendants for $10 million because of the accident.

Maria Clohessy, 47, of Pearl River, N.Y., was one of four people injured when the Cat in the Hat balloon crashed into a street lamp at 72nd Street and Central Park West because of high winds." (23 November, 2000).

Oh, the humanity!!!