HONOLULU (KHON2) — The United States Mint on Monday released the designs for the second year of the American Women Quarters™ Program which features distinguished American women on the flip side of a U.S. quarter. The other side shows George Washington.
In 2023, the late Native Hawaiian hula teacher Edith Kanaka’ole will be featured.
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Beginning this year, and continuing through 2025, the U.S. Mint is issuing up to five new reverse designs each year. The diverse group honored through this program reflects a wide range of accomplishments and fields, including civil rights, humanities, science and the arts.
Listed below is the order in which the quarters are being released:
2022
- Maya Angelou – Celebrated writer, performer, and social activist
- Dr. Sally Ride – Physicist, astronaut, educator, and first American woman in space
- Wilma Mankiller – First female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation
- Nina Otero-Warren – A leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement and the first female superintendent of Santa Fe public schools
- Anna May Wong – First Chinese American film star in Hollywood
2023
- Bessie Coleman – First African American and first Native American woman pilot
- Edith Kanakaʻole – Indigenous Hawaiian composer, chanter, dancer, teacher, and entertainer
- Eleanor Roosevelt – First Lady, author, reformer, and leader
- Jovita Idár – Mexican American journalist, activist, teacher, and suffragist
- Maria Tallchief – America’s first prima ballerina
“These beautiful designs honor the achievements of these amazing women and add to the Mint’s rich history of rendering the history of our Nation in enduring examples of numismatic art,” Mint Director Ventris C. Gibson stated in Monday’s announcement.
ABOUT THE COIN
(Courtesy: United States Mint)
The Edith Kanakaʻole Quarter is the seventh coin in the American Women Quarters™ Program. The coin, which is designed by Emily Damstra and sculpted by Renata Gordon, depicts a portrait of Kanakaʻole with her hair and lei poʻo (head lei) morphing into the elements of a Hawaiian landscape. This symbolizes her life’s work to preserve the natural land and traditional Hawaiian culture.
The inscription “E hō mai ka ʻike” — translated as “granting the wisdom” — refers to the intertwined role hula and chants play in this preservation.
Click here to learn more about Kanakaʻole and the coin design.
