American Samoa Quarter

American Samoa is a group of five islands and two atolls in the South Pacific Ocean. (An atoll is an island made of coral surrounding a bay.) Europeans began to visit this area in the early 1700s. English missionaries and traders arrived in the 1830s.

The United Kingdom and Germany turned the islands over to the United States in 1899 and it officially became a United States territory in 1929, the only US territory south of the Equator. Today, the people elect their own governor and a representative to the United States Congress. West of these islands is Samoa, a separate nation.

The American Samoa quarter is the fourth in the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program. The design on this quarter includes an ava bowl (or “tanoa”), a fly whisk, and a staff. The ava bowl is used to make a special drink for island chiefs and guests during important events. The whisk and staff symbolize the rank of the speaker at these gatherings. The ava bowl, whisk, and staff also appear on American Samoa’s official seal.

In the background of the design, a coconut tree stands on a tropical beach. The territory’s motto is also shown, which translates as “Samoa, God is First.”