“LOOK.” That’s the first word I learned to read. I recall that because, around 1990 or so, I returned to my old public grade school at the end of the school-year. There, I found a teacher cleaning up in the classroom where I attended first grade.
We chatted and I told her of my memorable first book – a “Dick and Jane” reader. The first word in the book and prominent throughout was, “Look.” Amazingly, she produced a dusty copy she had found on a shelf. It was the one I remembered. She generously gave it to me....
In it, young Dick and Jane repeatedly use the word “look.” So do family members “mother,” “father’ and young sister Sally The pure vanilla composition of the family extends to grandparents on the farm. All were seamlessly typecast. Perfect heights, weights, smiles, attitudes and on and on.
It was an idyllic and impossible world. As we would see in coming years, no one fit those textbook molds. A simple glance around our classroom revealed our collective foibles, flaws and differences.
The coins, stamps and currency of that time were similarly prosaic. Most all featured profiles of nicely groomed and physically fit colonial gentlemen (though one was said to sport “wooden” teeth). Fast forward 60 years to our coins and stamps today. They show a very different world.
Born in 1913 in Hawaii, Kanaka’ole dropped out of middle school in the seventh grade. Nevertheless, she went on to not only compose music but helped develop the first Hawaiian language program for the island’s public schools. She also created and performed a unique style of hula where dancers dynamically perform deeply bent movements.
From the beginning and throughout the mid-20th century, Hawaiian women and especially hula dancers were stereotyped as thin, athletic and exotically beautiful. A prime example is seen on the old “Hula Apples” fruit box label featuring a young, topless, Hawaiian woman under a palm tree. Early missionaries were aghast at the bare-breasted islanders and what they deemed the sexually provocative hula dance. They tried to forbid the dance and forced island women to “cover up.”
That action didn’t’ sit well with mid-1800s mariners who had heard tales of the alluring Hawaiian women. They eagerly braved the Pacific in hopes of spending time with them.
That nubile image wasn’t ubiquitous to all Hawaiian girls, including Kanaka’ole. As can be partially seen on the new quarter, Kanaka’ole was, respectfully, full-figured. It didn’t matter. Despite her robust size, her hula and athletic abilities were renowned proving all motivated women could participate and even lead.
This second coin in the 2023 American Women quarter series features a stylized depiction of Kanakaʻole’s face with her flowing hair and flowery lei transforming into a Hawaiian landscape. It is intended to symbolize Kanakaʻole's efforts to preserve traditional Hawaiian lands and culture. Below is the inscription "E hō mai ka ʻike" meaning “granting the wisdom” – a reference to the essential role hula and Hawaiian chants has in their culture of preservation.
The new quarter will be found in change and cash register drawers beginning this week. Collector quality proof versions are available in five-coin sets directly from the Mint at: www.USMint.gov. Next in the numismatic queue are three more 2023 quarters honoring: Mexican American journalist Jovita Idar; First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt; and American Indian Maria Tallchief – the first US prima ballerina. Rolls and bags of the uncirculated coins will be available from the Mint.
These prominent diverse quarters reopen the question of women and our paper currency. Other than a $1.00 bill issued in 1886 featuring Martha Washington (with a current collector value upwards of $4,000), women have been noticeably absent from our notes.
In 2019, it was announced Underground Railroad pioneer Harriet Tubman would replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. And LOOK; in seven years (2030) retail customers and collectors alike will eagerly open wallets to find those historic redesigned bills.
For more collecting information and advice, log on to: http://prexford.com/.