Reverse of the 2025 American Women Quarter featuring Althea Gibson swinging a tennis racket after a powerful shot.

American Women Quarters Series

Althea Gibson Quarter

History, design, and collector guide

Reverse of the 2025 American Women Quarter featuring Althea Gibson swinging a tennis racket after a powerful shot.
Reverse of the 2025 American Women Quarter honoring Althea Gibson. Image courtesy of the United States Mint.

Althea Gibson overview

Althea Gibson broke the color barrier in professional tennis, becoming the first Black player to compete at and win a Grand Slam tournament, taking the French Championships in 1956 before going on to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships. She later became the first Black player on the women’s professional golf tour as well.

Released October 21, 2025, her quarter closed out the American Women Quarters Program, honoring a career that opened professional tennis and golf to Black athletes for the first time.

Design and specifications

The reverse shows Gibson holding a tennis racket, surrounded by the word Trailblazing, summarizing her role opening two major sports to Black athletes.

  • Reverse sculptor: Renata Gordon
  • Reverse designer (Artistic Infusion Program): Don Everhart
  • Release date: October 21, 2025
  • Composition (standard clad): 91.67% copper, 8.33% nickel
  • Composition (silver proof): 99.9% silver
  • Diameter: 24.26 mm, edge: 119 reeds
  • Obverse: George Washington, designed by Laura Gardin Fraser

Mintage figures

Mintage by mint, all figures from official U.S. Mint production reports.

  • Philadelphia (no mintmark): 35,200,000
  • Denver (D): 31,600,000
  • San Francisco proof (S): 326,560
  • Total mintage: 67,126,560

At just 67.1 million coins, the Gibson quarter has by far the lowest total mintage of any coin in the entire series, less than a tenth of the highest mintage date, Edith Kanakaʻole.

Why Althea Gibson was chosen

Gibson was chosen for breaking the color barrier in two major professional sports. She won five Grand Slam singles titles in tennis during the 1950s at a time when Black athletes were routinely barred from major tournaments.

After her tennis career, Gibson became the first Black player on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour, extending her role as a barrier breaking athlete into a second sport.

Collecting the Althea Gibson quarter

With just 67.1 million struck, the Gibson quarter is by far the scarcest coin in the American Women Quarters Program and is worth watching closely for coin roll hunters, even though it currently trades for face value like every other date in the series.

As the final coin of the program and its lowest mintage date by a wide margin, some collectors consider Gibson quarters the most likely to develop a real premium over time, though that remains speculative until more time has passed since release.

5 fun facts about the Althea Gibson quarter

  1. Althea Gibson was the first Black player to win a Grand Slam tennis tournament, taking the French Championships in 1956.
  2. She won five Grand Slam singles titles during her career, including Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships.
  3. Gibson later became the first Black player on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour.
  4. With about 67.1 million struck, her quarter has the lowest total mintage of any coin in the series.
  5. Her quarter closed out the entire American Women Quarters Program, released October 21, 2025.

5 common FAQs about the Althea Gibson quarter

  1. Is an Althea Gibson quarter worth anything?
    Circulated coins currently trade for face value, but with only about 67.1 million struck, it has the lowest mintage in the entire series, making it worth watching.
  2. Why was Althea Gibson chosen for a quarter?
    She was honored for breaking the color barrier in professional tennis and later in professional golf.
  3. What is shown on the Althea Gibson quarter?
    Gibson is shown holding a tennis racket, surrounded by the word Trailblazing.
  4. How many Grand Slam titles did Althea Gibson win?
    Five Grand Slam singles titles, including Wimbledon, the U.S. Championships, and the French Championships.
  5. Was the Althea Gibson quarter the last coin in the series?
    Yes, it was released October 21, 2025 and closed out the American Women Quarters Program.

3 quiz questions about the Althea Gibson quarter

  1. What barrier did Althea Gibson break in 1956?
    A) First Black Grand Slam tennis champion
    B) First woman Olympic tennis medalist
    C) First Black U.S. Open referee
    D) First woman tennis coach
  2. What sport did Gibson compete in after her tennis career?
    A) Golf
    B) Basketball
    C) Track and field
    D) Swimming
  3. How does the Gibson quarter compare to the rest of the series by mintage?
    A) Highest mintage
    B) Lowest mintage
    C) Exactly average
    D) Second highest

Althea Gibson Quarter, Takeaway

The Althea Gibson quarter, released in October 2025, closed out the American Women Quarters Program and honors an athlete who broke the color barrier in both professional tennis and golf. With only about 67.1 million struck, it has by far the lowest mintage in the series.

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