The Native American $1 Coin Program was established to honor the significant contributions of Indian tribes and individual Native Americans to the history and development of the United States.
For 2023, the obverse design continues to feature a portrait of Sacagawea, who is depicted carrying her infant son, Jean-Baptiste. The inscriptions include “LIBERTY” and “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and the coins maintain their distinctive edge lettering and golden hue.
Originally released in 2000 as the Sacagawea Golden Dollar, the coin has since been renamed the Native American $1 Coin. Since 2009, each year has introduced a new reverse design highlighting an important Native American figure or contribution.
The 2023 reverse design showcases Maria Tallchief in a balletic pose. As America’s first major prima ballerina, Tallchief, alongside her husband George Balanchine, revolutionized American classical ballet. She is joined by four other renowned American Indian ballerinas from Oklahoma—her sister Marjorie Tallchief, Yvonne Chouteau, Rosella Hightower, and Moscelyne Larkin—collectively celebrated as the “Five Moons.” Their legacy of achievement and inclusion continues to inspire future generations of dancers. The lunar motif on the coin honors the Five Moons, while the four ballerinas in the background symbolize both Tallchief’s contemporaries and the dancers they inspired. Inscriptions on the reverse include “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “MARIA TALLCHIEF,” “$1,” and “AMERICAN INDIANS IN BALLET.”
The year of minting, mint mark, and the inscription “E PLURIBUS UNUM” are incused along the edge of the coins.
Denomination: | $1 Coin |
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Finish: | Circulating |
Composition: | 6% zinc, 3.5% manganese, 2% nickel, balance copper |
Weight: | 8.100 grams |
Diameter: | 1.043 inches (26.49 mm) |
Edge: | Lettered |
Mint and Mint Mark: | Philadelphia – P Denver – D |
Privy Mark: | None |
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