Anna May Wong Quarter: Value, Mintage and Errors
The 2022 Anna May Wong quarter is worth 25 cents in circulated condition. 467,600,000 were struck, 226,800,000 at Philadelphia and 240,800,000 at Denver. Released on 24 October 2022, it was the fifth coin of the program. Designer Emily Damstra framed Wong's name with marquee lightbulbs, as many stars of the 1920s and 1930s saw their names displayed.
What this coin looks like
The reverse of the Anna May Wong quarter is a close-up of Wong with her head resting on her hand, surrounded by the bright lights of a marquee sign. The inscriptions are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, QUARTER DOLLAR and ANNA MAY WONG.
The design is by Artistic Infusion Program designer Emily Damstra and was sculpted by U.S. Mint Medallic Artist John P. McGraw. Damstra said, "Many prominent actors from the 1920s and 1930s saw their name framed by lightbulbs on movie theater marquees, so I thought it made sense to feature Anna May Wong in this way," and that "it was her face and expressive gestures that really captivated movie audiences." The fifth and last 2022 coin in the American Women Quarters Program, it began shipping on 24 October 2022.
The reverse inscriptions read:
- UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- E PLURIBUS UNUM
- QUARTER DOLLAR
- ANNA MAY WONG
The obverse is the same on all 20 coins in the series: George Washington facing right, with LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, the date and the mint mark. The mint mark is to the right of Washington's neck, below the date. P is Philadelphia, D is Denver, S is San Francisco and appears only on proof and collector issues.
Is my Anna May Wong quarter an error?
No error or variety unique to this coin is documented in the grading-service and variety sources this site checks. That is the normal situation: only five of the 20 designs (Sally Ride, Wilma Mankiller, Edith Kanakaʻole, Bessie Coleman and Mary Edwards Walker) have a documented error or variety.
What people most often bring to this coin are the three claims that attach to every coin in the series: a faint G in IN GOD WE TRUST (not an error, it is the typeface), flat shiny doubling on the lettering (machine doubling, not a doubled die), and small raised lumps from die chips. The errors page has nine tests that separate a genuine mint error from damage, and the short list of errors that are actually documented in this program.
What is it worth?
| Found in change | 25 cents |
|---|---|
| Uncirculated, from a Mint roll or bag | $1 to $2 |
| Certified mint state | A few dollars, rising to roughly $86 at the top of the population for the series |
| Clad proof (S mint) | Typically less than the cost of grading it |
| Silver proof (S mint, .999 fine) | A floor set by the silver price, plus a small premium |
Values as of October 2026. The full reasoning, including the four cases where a coin in this series is genuinely worth more, is on the value page.
How many were made
| Philadelphia (P) | 226,800,000 |
|---|---|
| Denver (D) | 240,800,000 |
| Total | 467,600,000 |
| Rank in the series | 14 of 20 by mintage, lowest first |
| San Francisco (S) | Not published by the Mint |
San Francisco (S) figures are not shown because the Mint has never published per-design mintages for S-mint American Women Quarters. Any S figure published elsewhere is a secondary-source estimate, and the two most commonly cited sets contradict each other.
See the full mintage table for all 20 designs, or the key date page for where this coin sits in the series.
Collector versions
Besides the Philadelphia and Denver coins in circulation, the Mint sold three San Francisco versions of the 2022 Anna May Wong quarter directly to collectors. None were released into circulation.
| 2022-S uncirculated | Only in the 2022 three-roll set (40 P, 40 D, 40 S), $54.00 at issue |
|---|---|
| 2022-S clad proof | In the 2022 American Women Quarters Proof Set, $21.00 at issue, 42,821 sets sold |
| 2022-S silver proof | In the 2022 American Women Quarters Silver Proof Set, $73.00 at issue, 57,768 sets sold |
Set sales are as reported by CoinNews on 21 October 2026. Details on the proof and silver proof sets and the Mint rolls and bags.
Who was Anna May Wong?
Anna May Wong was born Wong Liu Tsong on 3 January 1905 in Los Angeles, on Flower Street, a block north of Chinatown. Her father, Wong Sam-sing, ran a laundry. The Mint and the National Women's History Museum describe her as the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood. She chose her stage name as a child by combining her English and Chinese names.
In 1919 she made her first film appearance as an extra carrying a lantern in The Red Lantern. She received her first screen credit in Bits of Life (1921) and left Los Angeles High School to act full time. At 17 she played her first leading role, in The Toll of the Sea (1922), an early two-color Technicolor feature. In March 1924 she founded her own company, Anna May Wong Productions, which later closed. In 1924 she played a Mongol slave in Douglas Fairbanks's The Thief of Bagdad.
Frustrated by the stereotyped supporting roles Hollywood offered her, she left for Europe in 1928. She starred in the British film Piccadilly (1929), made films in Germany, including The Flame of Love (1930), her first talking picture, and appeared on the London stage in The Circle of Chalk with Laurence Olivier. In 1930 she returned to the United States under contract to Paramount and starred on Broadway in On the Spot, which ran for 167 performances.
She starred in Daughter of the Dragon (1931) and appeared with Marlene Dietrich in Shanghai Express (1932). In 1935 she sought the role of O-lan in MGM's The Good Earth, but the studio cast Luise Rainer. During the 1930s she also toured China. Paramount gave her leading roles in Daughter of Shanghai (1937) and King of Chinatown (1939).
During the Second World War she supported China's fight against Japan; she starred in Bombs over Burma and Lady from Chungking in 1942 and gave her salary to United China Relief. From August to November 1951 she starred in 13 episodes of The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong on the DuMont network, which the National Women's History Museum describes as the first U.S. television show led by an Asian American. Over her career she appeared in more than 60 films, according to the Mint, as well as on stage in London and New York.
In 1960 she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and appeared with Lana Turner in Portrait in Black. Anna May Wong died of a heart attack on 3 February 1961 at her home in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 56, two days after her final screen appearance. She was buried in her mother's grave at Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles. The Mint notes that throughout her career she "championed the need for increased representation" of Asian American actors.
She was selected as the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, whose career spanned film, television and theater and who pressed for better representation of Asian American actors.
The design
| Reverse designer | Emily Damstra, U.S. Mint Artistic Infusion Program |
|---|---|
| Reverse sculptor | John P. McGraw, U.S. Mint medallic artist |
| Obverse | Laura Gardin Fraser, designed and sculpted, 1931 |
| Released | 24 October 2022 |
Specifications
| Composition, circulating | 91.67% copper, 8.33% nickel (pure copper core, copper-nickel outer layers) |
|---|---|
| Composition, silver proof | .999 fine silver |
| Weight | 5.670 g clad, 6.343 g silver proof |
| Diameter | 24.26 mm |
| Thickness | 1.75 mm |
| Edge | reeded, 119 reeds |
| Mints | Philadelphia (P) and Denver (D) for circulation; San Francisco (S) for proof and collector issues |
No American Women Quarter was struck in 90% silver. The Mint moved its silver proof sets to .999 fine silver with the 2019-dated issues, before this program began.
Frequently asked questions
- How much is the Anna May Wong quarter worth?
- Twenty-five cents in circulated condition. An uncirculated example from a Mint roll or bag trades for one to two dollars.
- How many Anna May Wong quarters were made?
- 467,600,000 in total: 226,800,000 at Philadelphia and 240,800,000 at Denver.
- When was the Anna May Wong quarter released?
- It entered circulation on 24 October 2022.
- Who designed the Anna May Wong quarter?
- The reverse was designed by Emily Damstra of the Mint's Artistic Infusion Program and sculpted by U.S. Mint medallic artist John P. McGraw. The obverse, shared by all 20 coins, is by Laura Gardin Fraser.
- What is on the back of the Anna May Wong quarter?
- A close-up of Anna May Wong with her head resting on her hand, surrounded by the bright lights of a marquee sign.
Sources
- Mintage figures: U.S. Mint circulating coin production dataset.
- Designer and sculptor credits: U.S. Mint, cross-checked against the artists' initials on the coin.
- Coin photograph: United States Mint image.
- United States Mint Announces Designs for 2022 American Women Quarters Program Coins (6 October 2021)
- United States Mint to Begin Shipping Fifth American Women Quarters Program Coins October 24 (17 October 2022)
- Celebrating Hollywood Icon Anna May Wong, U.S. Mint (22 November 2022)
- Anna May Wong, Wikipedia
- Anna May Wong, National Women's History Museum
Last verified: October 2026. Mintage figures are final.