WASHINGTON — Your next handful of change could include some female faces.
After decades of producing coins that honored famous American men, the contributions of twenty American women are being celebrated by the United States Mint. It’s part of a four-year effort called the American Women Quarters Program.
“This is the first circulating coin program that is solely dedicated to honoring American women and their contributions to American society,” explained Michele Thompson, the program’s leader. “These are the quarters that are the workhorse of American coins. These are in the hearts and homes and hands of every American out there.”
The U.S. Mint launched the program in 2022, with plans to release five new designs each year through 2025. The designs include household names, such as astronaut and educator Dr. Sally Ride and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, as well as lesser known women who also made their mark on American culture. A quarter featuring Civil War era surgeon, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, will be released later this year.
“She would often cross battle lines to tend to wounded soldiers,” said Thompson. “At one point, she was captured by Confederate troops and she was held as a prisoner of war for over four months. She is the only woman to date to receive the Medal of Honor.”
Deciding which twenty women would be featured was a years-long effort, that began after Congress approved a law to allow the U.S. Mint to release new quarters. Part of the law was a requirement to feature a diverse group of women, “ethnically, racially, geographically, even across the periods of time.”
“When you look at what the U.S. Mint does, we’re experts in making coins, but we’re not experts in women’s history.” Thompson’s team worked with the Smithsonian American Women’s History, the National Women’s History Museum, and the Congressional Bipartisan Women’s Caucus – in addition to opening up the conversation to the public online. “These are going to be the nation’s coins, so hearing public input was vital.”
After sorting through 11,000 submissions, the U.S. Mint made its recommendations to U.S Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, who signed off on the finalists. The Federal Reserve Bank is in charge of determining how many of the quarters will be released nationwide. In 2022, 2.5 billion American Women Quarters were released into circulation.
In addition to the female faces, you may also notice a difference on the other side of the coins: a new portrait of George Washington. The first president is facing right instead of left. The artwork was originally designed by sculptor Laura Gardin Fraser in the early 1930s, as part of a program to celebrate the bicentennial of George Washington’s birth. Instead, a different design was chosen – and has been featured on all American quarters since 1933.
“We always say in this program, we’re honoring 20 women – we like to think we’re honoring 21,” said Thompson. “By putting Laura Gardin Fraser’s design on the head side of the quarter, it’s like we’re getting that design where it was originally made to be, out into the public, celebrating the 21st woman of the American Women Quarters Program.”
Four more American Women Quarters will be released into circulation in 2024 honoring: Patsy Takemoto Mink in March, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker in June, Celia Cruz in August, and Zitkala- Sa in October.
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