2024-P Celia Cruz American Women Quarter : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

The Celia Cruz American Women Quarter was released on August 19, 2024, the 14th coin in the series and the fourth coin in the 20-coin American Women Quarters program’s third year. Authorized by Public Law 116-330 (PDF link), the series began in 2022 and continues one more year through 2025, five new reverse designs released each year to commemorate the achievements and legacies of historically and culturally significant women. It follows the successful 50 State Quarters and America the Beautiful National Park Quarters programs and the Washington Crossing the Delaware one-year reverse type of 2021.

Celia Cruz – The Queen of Salsa

The 2024-P Celia Cruz American Women Quarter honors the spirit and legacy of entertainer Celia Cruz, the popular Cuban American singer and an important Latin American cultural touchstone.

She was born on October 21, 1925, to a large working-class family in Havana, Cuba. Singing from a young age, Celia learned from the diverse musical influences on the island nation. When she was a teenager, her aunt took her to sing in cabarets but Celia’s father, perhaps understandably considering the cultural context, disapproved of singing or performing as a career path for his daughter. She then went to school to become a teacher, until one of her instructors told Celia how much more money she would make signing than teaching. She then transferred to the National Conservatory of Music to further her education.

While a student, Celia would enter and win amateur singing contests at Havana radio stations and begin to sing with local bands. By the late 1940s, Celia Cruz was a regular performer at popular Havana nightspots. She also began to tour professionally and record music around this time.

In 1950, the noted Cuban band Sonora Matancera needed to replace their singer, and by joining the group Celia’s performing and recording career began to take off. She would ultimately spend 15 productive years with the band. Her first trip to the United States took place in 1957, and during a tour of Mexico in 1960, the Communists under Fidel Castro took over Cuba. Returning to Havana, Celia was a vocal critic of Castro. To escape possible repercussions–and to help pay for her mother’s medical expenses–Celia went back to Mexico that same year. When her mother died in 1962, the Castro regime would not allow Cruz back into Cuba; she would not return until 1990.

After touring the world with Sonora Matancera, she would go solo in 1965 and become an American citizen around the same time. Her husband, fellow Sonora Matancera bandmate Pedro Knight, would be her manager. The next year, she would record with the famous Latin percussionist and bandleader Tito Puente, including the track “Bemba colorá”, one of her signature songs. Celia recorded with other bandleaders and orchestras and by 1974, she had found a home with top salsa label Fania Records, where she stayed until the early ’90s. One notable event of this early period with the new label was Celia Cruz’s performance at the Rumble in the Jungle championship boxing match in Zaire between Heavyweight Champion George Foreman and Muhammad Ali.

Around this time she also became known for her outfits of sequined dresses, high heels, and wigs. One such outfit is part of the Smithsonian collection.

In 1976, Celia took part in a documentary film entitled Salsa, and would also participate in a 1988 drama of the same name. In 1987, Celia Cruz entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest free outdoor concert. Cruz won the Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Performance in 1990 for her album Ritmo en el corazón.

She would appear again in cinemas with the release of the movie Mambo Kings in 1992, and would receive the National Endowment for the Arts award from President William Jefferson Clinton in 1994. 1998 would see the release of one of her most popular songs, “La vida es un carnaval”. Cruz would also be inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1999.

In 2002, Cruz was diagnosed with breast cancer. Months after treatment for this illness, she would also be diagnosed with brain cancer. It did not, however, stop her from finishing what would turn out to be her final album, Regalo del Alma, released posthumously. Celia Cruz died on July 16, 2003.

Among the many schools, streets, monuments, and awards named after Cruz, the Smithsonian opened an exhibit entitled ¡Azúcar! in May 2005, and she also appeared as part of a series of postage stamps commemorating Latin music legends in 2011.

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Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

With the 2024-P Celia Cruz American Women Quarter released only a couple days ago, there is not a lot of market data to report on at the time of this publication. Individual raw examples are selling on eBay for between $1 and $2, and rolls are going for between $9 and $15. It appears, however, that sellers are more focused on the 2024-S rather than the Philadelphia Mint issue.

CAC, NGC, and PCGS are not reporting any examples certified as of 8/21, but the top pop data below will be updated in the coming months.

Top Population: PCGS N/A (0, 8/2024), NGC N/A (0, 8/2024), and CACG N/A (0:0 stickered:graded, 8/2024).

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Design

Obverse:

The American Women Quarters feature the effigy of George Washington designed by sculptor Laura Gardin Fraser in 1931. Washington’s head faces to the right. LIBERTY wraps around the top of the design, with the bottom of the letters BER slightly obstructed by the top of the head. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears in thin tall letters to the left of Washington’s head. The date and mintmark appear on the lower right side of the design, tucked under Washington’s chin. Gardin Fraser’s initials LGF are found in the truncation of Washington’s neck.

Reverse:

The reverse features a smiling portrait of Celia Cruz performing in a rumba-style dancing dress and holding a microphone. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA runs clockwise along the top of the side, with Ms. Cruz’s hairdo jutting between the words UNITED and STATES. Her catchphrase ¡AZÚCAR! (Spanish for “Sugar!”) is prominently located on the right, with the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM and the denomination 25₵ between it and Ms. Cruz. Mint Medallic Artist Phebe Hemphill designed and sculpted the reverse; the initials PH are to the right of Celia Cruz’s hand, near the rim. CELIA CRUZ is inscribed at the bottom.

Below is a video from the United States Mint discussing the 2024-P American Women Celia Cruz Quarter:

Edge:

The edge of the 2024-P Celia Cruz Quarter is reeded with 119 reeds.

2024-P Celia Cruz American Women Quarter Coin Specifications

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