Set of New US Quarters

LORELAI: Someone recruited him, promised him a handsome sum, financed his theatrical snowman accoutrements, so he could snatch victory away from a deserving local in order to bag the contest prize for himself.
RORY: Seems a little elaborate considering that the prize is a set of new US quarters.

A quarter is a 25 cent coin – a quarter dollar. The head of George Washington is on the obverse side, and originally, the reverse side was an American eagle.

In 1999, the US Mint began issuing commemorative quarters with a reverse which featured each of the fifty states of the US. It was the most successful coin-collecting program in history, with about half of the country’s population collecting the coins. I think this is the set of new quarters that Rory is talking about.

By late 2001, the set of quarters included Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Kentucky.

The program was completed in 2008, after which the Mint went on to do DC and US Territories, then national parks and monuments. You can buy a full set of the Fifty States coin sets for around $25 today.

Ringer

LORELAI: He’s a ringer.
RORY: How do you figure?
LORELAI: Someone recruited him, promised him a handsome sum, financed his theatrical snowman accoutrements, so he could snatch victory away from a deserving local in order to bag the contest prize for himself.

Ringer is slang for a contestant who enters a competition under false pretences, such as a professional entering an amateur contest. It comes from horse racing, where a fast horse was sometimes substituted for a slower one, known as a “ring-in”.

Although Lorelai is being deliberately preposterous, it does seem a little mean for such an experienced competitor to enter a local contest in a small town, especially when there isn’t even a large prize to act as an incentive. He isn’t actually building a snowman anyway – he’s creating an ice/snow sculpture, which is a different entity. I feel as if he should be disqualified.

Mrs Potato Head

LORELAI: Fine, I’ll just use the Mrs. Potato Head lips [on the snow woman].

Mr Potato Head is a toy consisting of a plastic potato “head”, to which you can attach a variety of body parts, such as eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. First manufactured by Hasbro in 1952, it was the first toy to be advertised on television. Mrs Potato Head was added in 1953, with Brother Spud and Sister Yam soon following.

Mr and Mrs Potato Head joined the Toy Story franchise in 1995, and Mr Potato Head got his own short-lived television show in 1998. They have lent themselves to several advertising campaigns and become spokespeople for various causes, such as giving up smoking, getting fit, and women voters.

Lorelai apparently has some Mrs Potato Head lips to use as a backup, but doesn’t get the chance to try them as the snow woman’s head unfortunately falls off.