HONOLULU (KHON2) — A commemorative quarter honoring a late legendary kumu hula rolled out on Monday.
United States Mint said Edith Kanakaʻole is one of the five American women to be minted on new quarters as part of the 2023 honorees for the American Women Quarters Program.
The coin makers of America recognized Kanakaʻole for her efforts in preserving Native Hawaiian knowledge, serving the Hawaiian community and applying a new lens to academic science.
“She was a renowned practitioner of, and an authority on, modern Hawaiian culture and language,” said Mint Director Ventris C. Gibson. “Edith Kanakaʻole believed that the oli, or Hawaiian chants, formed the basis of Hawaiian values and history.”
U.S. Mint said that Kanakaʻole was a clear role model for all Americans.
The portrait of Kanakaʻole was designed by U.S. Mint Artistic Infusion Program Designer Emily Damstra and sculpted by U.S. Mint Medallic Artist Renata Gordon.
Kanakaʻole is designed with her hair and lei poʻo (head lei) morphing into the elements of a Hawaiian landscape. U.S. Mint said this was done to symbolize Kanakaʻole’s efforts in preserving the natural land and traditional Hawaiian culture.
The inscription in Hawaiian “E hō mai ka ʻike” on the coin translates as “granting the wisdom.” U.S. Mint said this is a reference to the intertwined role hula and chants play in preservation.
The other side of the quarter remains a portrait of President George Washington.
Quarter rolls and bags honoring Kanakaʻole are available for purchase from the U.S. Mint here.
The rolls and bags product options include:
- Priced at $45.00, a bag of 100 circulating quality quarters minted in Philadelphia (product code 23WBC).
- Priced at $45.00, a bag of 100 circulating quality quarters minted in Denver (product code 23WBD).
- Priced at $40.00, a two-roll set containing a total of 80 circulating quality quarters minted in Philadelphia and Denver (product code 23WRC).
- Priced at $60.00, a three-roll set containing a total of 120 circulating quality quarters minted in Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco (product code 23WRD).
In addition to Kanakaʻole, the AWQ honorees for 2023 are Bessie Coleman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jovita Idar and Maria Tallchief.
