Newly designed quarters will feature female historical figures
AP Photo/Mike Groll
Recently, the United States Mint released designs for redesigned quarters featuring iconic women from history, such as Maya Angelou, Sally Ride and others.
The quarter designs come from the American Women Quarters Program, whose goal is to honor and showcase women from different ethnic, racial and geographic backgrounds that have made significant contributions to American history. Congress initially established the program with the passing of the Circulating Collectible Design Act of 2020.
AP Photo/NASA-TV
A new round of coins will be distributed each year from 2022 to 2025. The U.S. Mint released the first round of coin designs on Oct. 6.
The first five women to be featured on the coins are Maya Angelou, a renowned writer and activist, Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, Anna May Wong, the first Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood, Nina Otero-Warren, a suffragist and Santa Fe’s first female superintendent and Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File
Kelsey Osborne, a senior political science major, says showcasing these diverse women can help bring representation to people that have not been as heavily recognized.
“I think it kind of brings representation in different areas in our society, which I think we’ve always kind of lacked,” Osborne said. “It’s really nice to see that they’re kind of broadening the scope of who society finds important because all of the important people that we see in society or that are on a coin are usually important. Things that we hold to be dear to us are on currency, whether that be like national symbols or people. It’s really nice to see that us — us in this society — we’re trying to expand that vision of what we find to be important.”
Each design will be featured on the tail of the coin and related to each woman’s life and accomplishments, while the head of the coin will feature Laura Gardin Fraiser’s George Washington design, which was initially designed in 1932. Frasier was the first woman to design a U.S. coin, having previously designed the Alabama Centennial Half Dollar in 1921, according to the US Mint.
Allison Doone, the director of the U.S. Mint, said the goal behind the coins is to showcase these women and inspire future generations.
“These inspiring coin designs tell the stories of five extraordinary women whose contributions are indelibly etched in American culture,” said Doone. “Generations to come will look at coins bearing these designs and be reminded of what can be accomplished with vision, determination and a desire to improve opportunities for all.”
Dr. Ava Alves-Shippey, associate professor of political science, believes this is a good step forward in women’s representation, but more could be done to tell their stories.
“There’s a figure in a coin, there’s a little face, and some people might have some thoughts, ‘Woah, who is this woman? Why is she here?’ But maybe not everyone will,” Alves-Shippey said. “I think it’s more helpful if their stories can be told. Think, for example — theatre or movies or TV shows — the media the average American has access to. Having the arts community actually be on board with this and put these stories out there, I think, could be a helpful thing.”
Osborne shares a similar sentiment, as she believes there should be action following the release of the coins.
“I think if they pair this project with what goes behind it, like with representation, getting women into places of power where they can be voices for people who look like them and live the same lives as they do, I think that could be a really good thing,” Osborne said. “So with these coins and things like that, yes, we put these women on there, but we need to ensure that we are continually adding spaces for women in society.”
For more information on each of the women featured on the coins and the designers who made them, click here.
