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Country: United States
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Denomination: 25 Cents (Quarter Dollar)
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Series: American Women Quarters Program – 7th design overall, 2nd release of 2023
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Year: 2023
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Mints: Philadelphia (“P”), Denver (“D”) for circulation; San Francisco (“S”) for clad proofs and 99.9% silver proofs in collector sets
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Composition (clad): 91.67% copper, 8.33% nickel; Weight: 5.67 g; Diameter: 24.26 mm; Thickness: 1.75 mm; Edge: Reeded
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Composition (silver proof): 99.9% silver; Weight: 6.343 g (0.199 troy oz approx.); Diameter: 24.3 mm; reeded edge
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Approx. Mintage: ~372.8M (P), ~368.6M (D), ~503k (S), total ~741.9M coins – one of the highest-mintage designs in the series
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Obverse: Laura Gardin Fraser’s right-facing portrait of George Washington with LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, 2023, and mint mark
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Reverse: Edith Kanakaʻole with her hair and lei poʻo (head lei) blending into the Hawaiian landscape, symbolizing her role in preserving land and culture; inscriptions include UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, EDITH KANAKAʻOLE, the motto “E hō mai ka ‘ike” (“granting the wisdom”), and the distinctive denomination 25¢ instead of “QUARTER DOLLAR”
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Designers: Reverse designed by Emily Damstra (Artistic Infusion Program) and sculpted by Renata Gordon, U.S. Mint medallic artist
Historical Significance
The American Women Quarters Program (2022–2025) issues five new reverse designs each year to honor women whose work reshaped U.S. history across activism, arts, government, science, and culture. Edith Kanakaʻole’s coin is especially notable: she is recognized as the first Native Hawaiian to appear on U.S. currency, and her quarter marks a milestone in how federal coinage reflects Indigenous stories.
Born in 1913 on Hawaiʻi Island, Kanakaʻole became a renowned kumu hula and master chanter whose original oli (chants) and hula compositions preserved ancestral knowledge at a time when Hawaiian language and traditions were under pressure. She founded Hālau o Kekuhi, developed college-level courses in Hawaiian studies and language at Hawaiʻi Community College and the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, and helped fuel the cultural resurgence now known as the Hawaiian Renaissance.
The reverse motto “E hō mai ka ‘ike” (“granting the wisdom”) references a well-known chant and underscores how hula, song, and story transmit values, genealogy, and environmental knowledge. The flowing river, mountains, and Kanakaʻole’s hair merging into the landscape visually tie her life’s work to the land itself.
Collectibility
For collectors, the Edith Kanakaʻole quarter offers both series importance and strong visual appeal:
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Circulation issues (P & D): Ideal for rolls, bags, and album sets; also the source for many popular minor varieties and errors, including noted clashed-die pieces on P-mint coins.
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S-mint clad proofs: Sharply struck with frosted devices and mirrored fields, widely collected as part of annual proof and American Women Quarters sets.
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S-mint 99.9% silver proofs: Low-mintage, high-contrast proofs combining bullion appeal with numismatic demand; included in silver proof and Limited Edition Silver Proof Sets.
As one of the highest-mintage coins in the entire program and the first U.S. coin to honor a Native Hawaiian, the 2023 Edith Kanakaʻole quarter is essential for a complete American Women Quarters run and a centerpiece for collections focused on Native cultures, the Pacific, or modern U.S. cultural history
