PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Mint on Monday began production of the new Maine quarter, which depicts a three-masted schooner sailing by one of the state’s historic lighthouses perched on a rocky headland.

Gov. John Baldacci and U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, took turns operating the coining press in ceremonies at the Philadelphia Mint for the quarter, the final New England coin in the U.S. 50 State Quarters program.

The coin will make “a great kickoff” to the tourist season in Maine, Baldacci said.

The Maine quarter depicts Pemaquid Point Light in New Harbor, which marks the entrance to Muscongus Bay and Johns Bay, where a dangerous shoal caused many shipwrecks before Congress set aside funds to build a lighthouse in 1826.

While the original building was replaced in 1835 and the original 10 lamps in 1856, the light remains a beacon for ships and is one of Maine’s most popular tourist attractions. The design was picked by a popular vote with more than 100,000 residents participating.

The coin also depicts a schooner resembling Victory Chimes, the last three-masted schooner of the windjammer fleet. The ship, built in 1900, carried lumber and fertilizer, served as a merchant vessel in both world wars, and was named a National Historic Landmark.

Mint officials say the quarter will go into circulation in two weeks, and a formal unveiling is scheduled June 9 at Pemaquid Point.

The coin is the 23rd in the 50 State Quarters program, under which five quarters are being released each year between 1999 and 2008 with designs on the reverse side specific to each of the 50 states.

The Maine design was chosen last year by Mainers who voted from among four designs. Most of the votes were cast over the Internet.