(WASHINGTON) — Americans will soon be seeing new, empowering faces on some U.S. quarters.
On Wednesday, the United States Mint announced its quarter designs for 2022, which feature five trailblazing American women.
The five women featured are Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood; Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman to soar into space; award-winning writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou; Wilma Mankiller, the first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and an activist for Native American and women’s rights; and Nina Otero-Warren, a leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement and the first female superintendent of Santa Fe public schools.
“These inspiring coin designs tell the stories of five extraordinary women whose contributions are indelibly etched in American culture,” the United States Mint’s acting director, Alison L. Doone, said in a statement.
The designs are part of the American Women Quarters Program, a four year program featuring coins with reverse (tails) designs of women who have made their mark in American history.
For each year until 2025, the Mint will issue five quarters honoring individuals with a wide range of accomplishments and fields, including suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, space and the arts.
“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,” Doone said.
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