The U.S. Mint is now in its third year of releasing coins depicting women who made an impact on American history as part of its American Women Quarters Program. Historically, U.S. currency has largely and almost exclusively depicted men, and the Mint's program is an effort to try and address this imbalance.
This year, the first quarter available features civil rights activist and lawyer Reverend Pauli Murray, who co-founded the National Organization for Women. In 1977, Murray also became the first Black woman ordained as an Episcopal priest.
During the course of 2024, the Mint will also circulate quarters featuring 'Queen of Salsa', Cuban-American salsa singer Celia Cruz; Civil War-era surgeon Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor; the first woman of color to serve in Congress, Hawaii Representative Patsy Takemoto Mink; and Native American writer and activist Zitkala-Å a.
In each of the last two years, five quarters have been released that feature women, and when the program wraps up next year, there will be a total of 20 quarters featuring notable women in U.S. history.
Honorees in 2022: Maya Angelou, Sally Ride, Wilma Mankiller, Adelina Otero-Warren, and Anna May Wong.
Honorees in 2023: Bessie Coleman, Jovita Idar, Edith Kanakaʻole, Eleanor Roosevelt, and
Maria Tallchief.