Roll and bags of the newest coin from the United States Mint’s four-year series of American Women Quarters™ are available today at noon EST with the release of 2023 Bessie Coleman quarters.
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Each option contains quarters in uncirculated quality with a reverse (tails side) design honoring the first African American and first Native American woman pilot. Coleman also has the distinction of being the first African American to earn an international pilot’s license.
Made for collectors, specially burnished blanks are used for these quarters which are hand-loaded into coining presses resulting in a strike with a brilliant finish. Products for the release include:
- Two-Roll Sets for $40 – containing 40 quarters produced at the Philadelphia Mint and 40 quarters produced at the Denver Mint
- Three-Roll Sets for $60 – containing 40 quarters from Philadelphia Mint, 40 from the Denver Mint and 40 from the San Francisco Mint
- 100-Coin Bags for $45 – buyers have the choice of 100 coins from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint
As for the three-roll sets, the Mint stated:
"Because of overwhelming demand, much of the production of the three-roll sets is accounted for through subscription. Should any inventory become available, those products will be made available via the ‘Remind Me’ feature."
Regular circulating Bessie Coleman quarters started shipping Jan. 3 to Federal Reserve Banks and their coin terminals for distribution into circulation. As such, some may have already found their way into your pocket change. All circulating coins are produced in either Philadelphia or Denver.
Bessie Coleman Quarter Designs
The reverse of each new quarter offers an image of Bessie Coleman as she suits up in preparation for flight, with her gaze fixed on the skies. A plane appears off in the distance.
Inscriptions around the design include "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "QUARTER DOLLAR," "E PLURIBUS UNUM," "BESSIE COLEMAN" and "6.15.1921," the date Coleman received her pilot’s license. This design was created by Artistic Infusion Program Designer Chris Costello with sculpting by United States Mint Medallic Artist Eric David Custer.
All coins in the series share the same obverse (heads side) likeness of George Washington. The portrait was originally created by artist Laura Gardin Fraser to mark Washington’s 200th birthday in 1932.
Obverse inscriptions read: "LIBERTY," "IN GOD WE TRUST" and "2023."
Quarter Specifications
| Denomination: | Quarter |
| Finish: | Uncirculated |
| Composition: | 8.33% nickel, balance copper |
| Weight: | 5.670 grams |
| Diameter: | 0.955 inch (24.26 mm) |
| Edge: | Reeded |
| Mint and Mint Mark: | Philadelphia – P Denver – D San Francisco – S |
| Privy Mark: | None |
Ordering
Rolls and bags of Bessie Coleman quarters may be ordered directly from the U.S. Mint’s online catalog quarter products.
Initial household order limits of three each of the two-roll and three-roll sets have been established along with a limit of 10 per bag option.
U.S. Mint’s Women Quarters Program
Quarters of the series are authorized by Public Law 116-330 and will include a total of twenty issues over four years at a rate of five per year. Each celebrates the accomplishments and contributions made by women to the development and history of the United States. 2022 quarters honor Maya Angelou, Dr. Sally Ride, Wilma Mankiller, Nina Otero-Warren, and Anna May Wong.
In addition to Bessie Coleman, 2023 quarters celebrate:
- Edith Kanaka’ole – indigenous Hawaiian composer, custodian of native culture and traditions
- Eleanor Roosevelt – first lady, author, and civil liberties advocate
- Jovita Idar – Mexican-American journalist, activist, teacher, and suffragist
- Maria Tallchief – America’s first prima ballerina
These coins will be released in intervals throughout the year. In addition, numismatic grade clad proof and silver proof sets will be issued by the U.S. Mint along with holiday ornaments.
The first test of the higher product limit PDS sets for AWQ (going from 7,620 to 12,620)- I’m curious to see how long it takes for a sell-out of what’s available today.
Major D, I also am curious to see what transpires. There have been more than a few collectors, speculators, hobbyists, that bailed out after the price raises. However there appears to be more than a few “newbies” ready to take their place. I just feel like the US Mint isn’t even trying? I mean what do they really care? They get nothing more, nothing less, no matter how they perform? What’s the incentive besides pride? Many never had it, many never will! Too many think that something is owed to them? Much like collectors believing the US Mint owes its… Read more »
I do it my way, regardless of how often the direction of my inclinations change.
Damn Kaiser Wilhelm are you related to or are you actually Mr Norris, because there is no doubt, “you definitely do it your way”! LOL BTW, I’m glad “you do you”, the way that you do!
I am regrettably not able to either confirm or deny that clever attempt to discern my identity as a sworn and notarized statement is enshrined at the hospital of my birth forever binding me to practiced ambiguity.
LOL Kaiser Wilhelm,
Thanks for the sincere belly laugh, which awakened my slumbering dog! Haha
You’re entirely welcome, Caliskier; my apologies to your poor dog!
Let sleeping dogs lie.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
He didn’t mind too much as he’s one of those nosy, clingy, chocolate Labs! He’s got to be everywhere and anywhere I’m at in addition to moving and following me. I should be so lucky! Spitting image of our dog Hershey! Except Hershey has more gray in the muzzle and around eyes, like me! Haha
Oh boy, that caption gave me a real start there. For a second I thought I had walked in on my ex-wife and her boyfriend again!
As of 2:40 PM ET, Major D, the AWQ 3 Roll Sets are sold out.
and the ebay sellers rejoice…
In the wise words of the wonderful Cyndi Lauper, “Money changes everything.”
1326 Available, should be quick sell out
the subscription had been sold out, early this morning there were 1325 rolls available, so someone must have cancelled a subscription. I guess under subscription the mint sells about 90% or so and then releases the rest on the day of the sale. On the bright side for me, I finally opened my roll of Innovation dollars. one coin has an error. The printing on the edge is incomplete. you can see a P and 3 starts, and also LURIBUS UN. This is obviously different than simply not getting the edge not printed that occurred on the Washington and Adams… Read more »
Congrats on the error coin, Tom. Let’s hope it turns about to be a good one!
we shall see. there is a coin ‘show’ here at the end of May, so I guess I will check then.
Just received email saying my 3 roll set is in the mail. guess I have an ‘early release’. ha
If you’ve taken the time and effort to make significant and powerful Mint connections you might get the “First S Roll Minted” designation.
Once again for the second sales report in a row (first Feb 5 and now Feb 12) the Mint has not included any sales data for the 2023 Ohio AI $. I wonder if it will do the same next week, and also leave out the 2023 Coleman AWQ sales?
It could be a completely innocent mistake or it might instead be a racist conspiracy; we’ll just have to wait and see what odds the Vegas bookies are giving each of the possibilities.
No, I’d say nothing to do with race or conspiracy. But leaving out sales data does muddle how many there are, and how many were returned.
You’re surely right; no politics involved here except possibly those at the Mint.
We’ll be feared like the Hun.
looked at E-BAY
If I counted correctly, currently 83 3 roll sets up for sale and 45 have already been sold. that would be 128 rolls in total. that would be a little more than 1% of total available from the mint. I did not search to see if someone broke up the 3 roll set and sold the S roll separately, nor for those who broke up the roll selling the coins separately, so the count at 1% is understated.
Thanks for the update Tom! BTW if anyone is interested the AWQ’s PDS Subscriptions have been available off and on throughout today.
Well, yes, in WWI, but “Krauts” in WWII.
I meant to address the issue of race, conspiracy and politics. Also unscrupulous flippers and dealers, as in a certain Mike.
Aha, the “mike drop”; I got that one immediately! 🙂
Darrin Lee Unser,
& Mike Unser,
This article states that these quarters are struck on special planchets, burnished & hand-fed into the coinage presses – this is totally wrong! The Mint’s website does not list “condition” in the specifications section, but in the description section it states what has been true since the “S”, “P” & “D” Mint mark coins in rolls were first offered many years ago – they are circulating-quality coins struck just like all that are put into circulation.
NumisdudeTX
Seth Riesling, I think you’ve brought up a very noteworthy point. Below are two statements from the article above, and it is abundantly clear to me that they entirely contradict each other. Made for collectors, specially burnished blanks are used for these quarters which are hand-loaded into coining presses resulting in a strike with a brilliant finish. These coins will be released in intervals throughout the year. In addition, numismatic grade clad proof and silver proof sets will be issued by the U.S. Mint along with holiday ornaments. The first statement describes these quarters as having been made using numismatic… Read more »
Seth, you’re absolutely correct- they are circulation grade. It’s easily apparent in looking at them. In fact, I’ve received the same quality, and sometimes better, coins from Reserve quarter rolls picked up from the bank. The only roll that has any extra value is the S-mint, as these are not distributed to banks.
You bring up an interesting point, Major D, in that the “S” quarters, while being the key to the substantial resale value of this AWQ 3 Roll Set, are themselves qualitatively speaking not any different, which is to say better than the “D” and “P” quarters, and that the only thing that makes them so very special is that they are never released for circulation. Essentially, in paying $60 for that 3 Roll Set one is paying $10 each for the “D” and “P” rolls and $40 for the “S” roll.