Northern Mariana Islands Quarter

The Northern Mariana Islands quarter is the sixth and final quarter in the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program. The quarter’s design uses images from the islands’ wealth of history and natural resources.

Near a tropical shore stands a large latte, a limestone column that supported the buildings of the Chamorro people in ancient times. A canoe of the native Carolinians speaks of the people’s ability to travel vast distances by sea. Two white fairy terns fly overhead. A string of flowers worn around the head underlines the design. The Carolinians call this crown of flowers a “mwar.” It symbolizes the virtues of honor and respect.

These islands were ruled by Spain for centuries until Spain sold them to Germany in 1899. Japan seized them in 1914 and American forces occupied them during World War II. After the war, the group was included in the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. This status ended in 1986.

Residents chose to make the islands a commonwealth in 1975, and President Gerald Ford signed the covenant to establish the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands the next year. The southernmost island in the Mariana chain, Guam, had a separate path to its status as a U.S. territory. Guam’s quarter is third in this series.