New Coin Issues

US Mint Begins AWQ 2023 Programme

The US Mint has commenced its 2023 American Women Quarters (AWQ) programme with the release of the first two coins in this year’s series.

© US Mint.

Launched in January, the first coin of this year features Bessie Coleman, the first African American and first Native American woman pilot as well as the first African American to earn an international pilot’s licence. The design features Bessie Coleman in the foreground on the left, as she suits up in preparation for flight. She is looking towards the skies, depicted on the right of the coin by clouds, with a plane shown in the background. The date ‘6.15.1921’ is minted at the bottom of the coin, marking the date that Coleman received her pilot’s licence.

The second coin of this year’s series was launched last week and features Edith Kanaka‘ole, an indigenous Hawaiian composer and custodian of native culture, traditions, and the natural land. The design depicts a portrait of Edith Kanaka‘ole, with her hair and lei po‘o (head lei) morphing into the elements of a Hawaiian landscape, symbolising her life’s work of preserving the natural land and traditional Hawaiian culture. The inscription below the portrait, ‘E hō mai ka ‘ike’, translates as ‘granting the wisdom’, a reference to the intertwined role hula and chants play in the aforementioned preservation.

As with the other coins in the AWQ series, the obverse designs feature Laura Gardin Fraser’s portrait of George Washington. A proof set including one of each AWQ design has also been released by the Mint.

The other three honorees in the 2023 series are Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady, author and civil liberties advocate; Jovita Idar, a Mexican-American journalist, activist, teacher, and suffragist; and Maria Tallchief, America’s first Native American prima ballerina.

The US Mint has also released several proposed designs for its 2024 AWQ programme, with the final design of each coin to be approved by the Treasury Secretary following review by and consultation with the Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

Isle of Man Celebrates King Charles III Coronation

The Isle of Man (IOM) has released a collection of coins to commemorate the upcoming coronation of the new King, which is scheduled to take place on 6 May later this year.

All five 50p coins in the collection feature images of royal beasts and words from the first verse of the British national anthem and mirror the coin set issued last year to celebrate the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. The collection has been minted at Tower Mint, with a quantity due to be put into general circulation.

© Isle of Man Coins.

New Coin Marks Construction of New Cable Car

To mark the construction of a new year-round cable car route between Zermatt in Switzerland and Italy, Swissmint has launched a new commemorative coin. Titled ‘Klein Matterhorn Cable Car’, the new coin has been released under the Mint’s newly established ‘Swiss Special Coins’ brand, which was inaugurated at the end of last year.

© Swissmint.

The nominal value of the coin is CHF 20, which is displayed on the reverse of the coin below an image of the Matterhorn mountain. The obverse of the coin features a larger image of the Matterhorn in the background, focusing on the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise mountain station, with a modern cable car in the foreground.

50 Years Commemorated with a 50 Rupee Coin

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued a commemorative 50 rupee coin to mark 50 years, or the Golden Jubilee, of the country’s Senate. Released on the 17 March, the coin is being issued through the exchange counters of all the field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation.

The obverse features one of the national symbols of Pakistan, the waxing crescent moon and five-pointed star facing North West, in the centre of the coin. The words ‘Islami Jamhuria Pakistan’ are inscribed in Urdu script at the top of the design, with two sprigs of wheat at the bottom below the year of issuance. The face value (‘50’) and type (‘Rupia’ in Urdu script) of coin are detailed on the right and left side of the coin respectively.

On the reverse, the State Emblem of Pakistan is depicted in the centre, with ‘Pakistan Senate Golden Jubilee’ in Urdu script and the dates ‘1973-2023’ above and below the emblem. The denomination also features on the right side of the reverse design, in a stylistic script. The coin is composed of cupro-nickel alloy.