WASHINTON, D.C. — Remember when new quarters featured images from each state? The U.S. Mint has now launched the American Women Quarters Program to celebrate women who have made history with their accomplishments and contributions to our nation.
Beginning in 2022, the Mint will issue up to five new designs on the reverse side of a quarter, which will still feature George Washington on each coin. Writer Maya Angelou and astronaut Dr. Sally Ride will be the first outstanding women to be featured on the new quarters.
This four-year program is inviting the public to offer recommendations for women to be featured on the coins; ideas for future honorees can be made through the web portal established by the National Women’s History Museum.
Some of the accomplishments the Mint wishes to feature include suffrage, civil rights, the abolitionist movement, government, science, space and arts, among other fields. The Mint also seeks to feature women from ethnically and geographically diverse backgrounds.
Although the selection and design of the coins is a multi-step process, it's anticipated that a large number of women will be represented; some for a single year, and some for multiple years. One caveat; no living women will be featured in the coin designs.
