American Women Quarters 2023 Rolls and Bags – Edith Kanakaʻole

The American Women Quarters™ Program is a four-year series celebrating the accomplishments and contributions made by women who have shaped our Nation’s history and helped pave the way for generations who followed. Beginning in 2022 and continuing through 2025, the Mint is issuing five new quarters each year featuring reverse (tails) designs honoring a group of prominent American women.

The new quarters honor a diverse group of notable American women who made significant contributions in a variety of fields, including suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, space, and the arts. The women honored are from ethnically, racially, and geographically diverse backgrounds.

Edith Kanakaʻole was an indigenous Hawaiian composer, chanter, kumu hula, and custodian of native culture, traditions, and the natural land.

The reverse design depicts a portrait of Edith Kanakaʻole, with her hair and lei poʻo (head lei) morphing into the elements of a Hawaiian landscape, symbolizing her life’s work of preserving the natural land and traditional Hawaiian culture.

The inscription “E hō mai ka ʻike” translates as “granting the wisdom,” a reference to the intertwined role hula and chants play in this preservation. Additional inscriptions are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” “25¢,” and “EDITH KANAKAʻOLE.”

The common obverse (heads) depicts a portrait of George Washington. This design was originally composed and sculpted by Laura Gardin Fraser as a candidate entry for the 1932 quarter, which honored the bicentennial of George Washington’s birth. Inscriptions are “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “2023.”

Honor the courage and accomplishments of women who have created positive change. We invite you to start or continue your collection of the American Women Quarters today!