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A collectible dollar in which the familiar figure of Sacagawea opens a fresh theme each year. The theme of this issue is "Maria Tallchief and the Five Moons".
Obverse
The obverse shows a portrait of Sacagawea — a young Shoshone woman, guide of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, carrying her infant son Jean-Baptiste on her back. Flanking it are LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. It is the most recognizable image of the series, unchanged since 2000. The inscription and portrait set a solemn, recognizable tone for the whole series.
Reverse
The 2023 reverse is a miniature of its own: it depicts Maria Tallchief — America’s first prima ballerina and the first Native American to hold the title — in a balletic pose, with a lunar motif nodding to Oklahoma’s celebrated "Five Moons". Around the rim are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the denomination $1, while the year and the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM are lettered on the edge. The relief catches the light as the coin is turned.
Historical context
The series-wide obverse depicts Sacagawea — a young Lemhi Shoshone woman born around 1788 in what is now Idaho. Captured by a rival tribe as a girl, she later became the wife of the trader Toussaint Charbonneau and, already pregnant, joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition in February 1805. Carrying her infant son Jean-Baptiste on her back, she took on the roles of interpreter, guide and peacemaker, without whom the party could hardly have reached the Pacific. Sacagawea became one of the most honored women in U.S. history — with more monuments dedicated to her than to any other American woman.
The 2023 reverse is dedicated to Maria Tallchief — America’s first prima ballerina and the first Native American to hold the title. An Osage daughter, she conquered the world’s stages and made her mark in The Firebird and Swan Lake. The lunar motif on the coin nods to the "Five Moons," Oklahoma’s celebrated five ballerinas of Native descent. The coin honors an artist who broke prejudice and proved that great art knows no ethnic bounds. Equally suited to a beginning collector and a seasoned numismatist.