Poet Maya Angelou, Astronaut Sally Ride, and 18 Other Women To Be Honored on U.S. Quarters
Twenty inspiring women will have their likeness minted on the back of the coins.
Maya Angelou and Dr. Sally Ride are the first two trailblazers who will appear on a new series of quarters honoring 20 history-making women. The U.S. mint will begin releasing their coins next year and they will continue in circulation through 2025.
Angelou, a critically decorated poet, is remembered for her writings and civil rights activism that speaks to Black culture in America. Meanwhile, NASA astronaut Ride is recognized as the first American woman to go to space. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who introduced the redesign program, said that the two women “paved the way for many who came after them and inspired young women to carry on their legacy…I'm glad they are among the first of many to be recognized.”
The American Women Quarters Program has yet to name the other women to be featured on the money and people can nominate those who they wish to see on the coins through an online form set up by the National Women’s History Museum.
Angelou and Ride will appear on the backs of the coins, while the heads will show a likeness of George Washington that is “designed in a manner to distinguish it from the current image,” according to the U.S. Mint.