March 5, 2009 Quarter to feature Gloucester fisherman

BOSTON (AP) - The Gloucester Fisherman's Memorial will be featured on a new Massachusetts quarter.

Gov. Deval Patrick announced Thursday that the memorial received 245,000 votes from Massachusetts citizens on the state Web site.

The U.S. Mint asked states, the District of Columbia and the territories to vote on one preferred and three alternate national sites for a new series of quarters.

Massachusetts's three alternate sites are the Lowell National Historic Park, Salem's House of Seven Gables and the USS Constitution in Boston.

Under the America's Beautiful National Parks quarter series, the mint will issue five new designs a year starting in 2010.

Concord's Minuteman statue represented Massachusetts in the first state quarter series that was completed last year.

On the Net: - http://www.mass.gov/governor/quarter - http://www.usmint.gov/mint-programs

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)