The U.S. Mint will finally release the quarter commemorating the iconic Cuban American singer and the Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz, on August 12. The announcement and the final design of the quarter was revealed last year and is part of a program called American Women Quarters 2024.
The coin featuring the image of iconic Cuban singer Celia Cruz (1925-2003) will officially start circulating in the United States from August 12, as part of the American Women Quarters 2024 program, which honors five distinguished female figures from the nation. The launch of the coin, bearing the smiling face of the “Guarachera de Cuba” and the inscription of her famous expression “¡Azúcar!” in Spanish, will be marked by a ceremony currently in preparation, confirmed the U.S. Mint (US-MINT), a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, to the digital site Café Fuerte.
Celia Cruz will be the fourth female figure honored this year by the American Women Quarters program, which will circulate 500 million quarters (approximately $125 million), though this number could increase based on demand. The “Queen of Salsa,” who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1977, is the first Afro-Latina to be immortalized on a U.S. coin.
While the circulation of this special coin won’t commence until mid-August, collectors can already purchase a proof set featuring all five coins issued this year, said U.S. Mint spokesperson Brent Thacker to Café Fuerte. The institution’s website offers three set options priced at $23, $35 (double set), and $80 (silver edition). Rolls and bags of the coins will be available online starting August 19. Shipments will be made only to the U.S., Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories including American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
While this quarter may be only worth 25 cents, for Cuban Americans and those who love Celia Cruz, it will be worth much more.
Well, it looks like Celia, unlike that “Barbie” doll of her which looked much more like one of the Supremes.