The United States Mint will release its last 2024-dated American Womens Quarter next week, October 28th, in rolls and bags. Honoring Zitkala-Ša, the quarter dollar coins will be released at 12pm EST.
Zitkala-Ša, also known as Red Bird, left her home on the Yankton reservation in South Dakota at the young age of just eight to attend a boarding school run by white missionaries. There, her native culture and traditions were not allowed. She would grow up to become a composer, writer, educator, and political activist for Native Americans’ right to obtain United States citizenship and to gain the other civil rights they had been denied.
In traditional Yankton Sioux dress, Zitkala-Ša is seen holding a book on the reverse, which is meant to represent her work as not only an author but a successful activist for Native American rights. A stylized sun is seen behind her, which is symbolic of her work on The Sun Dance Opera. A cardinal is included in the design to represent her name which translates to “Red Bird,” and a Yankton Sioux-inspired diamond pattern sits underneath the sun. Inscriptions featured are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” “AUTHOR,” “ACTIVIST,” “COMPOSER,” “25 CENTS,” and “ZITKALA- ŠA.”
Both 100-coin bag options will retail at $45.00 and be available from both the Philadelphia and Denver Mint. The 2-roll coin set will also feature coins from Philadelphia and Denver and retail at $40.00 while the 3-roll coin set contains an additional roll from San Francisco and retails at $60.00.
Source: United States Mint
