Jovita Idar American Women Quarter Wins Best Circulating Coin or Coin Series at the 32nd Mint Directors Conference

The United States Mint was honored at the 32nd Mint Directors Conference (MDC) in Cape Town, South Africa this week with the 2023 American Women Quarter honoring Jovita Idar recognized in the Best Circulating Coin or Coin Series category.

Designed and sculpted by United States Mint Medallic Artist John P. McGraw, the reverse design of the ninth coin in the American Women Quarters Program depicts the Mexican-American journalist, activist, teacher and suffragist with her hands clasped.

Within her body are inscriptions representing the causes she fought for and the regional newspapers that she contributed to.

The inscriptions are “MEXICAN AMERICAN RIGHTS,” “TEACHER,” “JOVITA IDAR,” “NURSE,” “EVOLUCIÓN,” “ASTREA,” “EL HERALDO CRISTIANO,” “LA CRUZ BLANCA,” “JOURNALIST,” “LA CRÓNICA,” “EL PROGRESO,” “LA LIGA FEMENIL MEXICANISTA,” “QUARTER DOLLAR,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” and “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.”

Besides the 2023 Jovita Idar American Women Quarter winning Best Circulating Coin, the MDC awards recognise industry achievements in the design, production, packaging and distribution of commemorative and circulating coins throughout the world. The winners were selected from a total of 112 nominations and adjudicated by the members of the Mint Directors Association.

Held this week in Cape Town, South Africa, the 32nd MDC Coin Awards, sponsored by MingFeng Packaging, were presented during the MDC Gala Dinner at Cape Point Vineyards.

[CoinWeek’s Charles Morgan attended the 29th Mint Directors Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, giving a presentation on the need for world mint support of coin collectors. —Ed.]