How Cool! U.S. Quarters In 2022 Will Honor Pioneering Women

I don't know about you, but I think this is wayyyyyyy cool. And long overdue. Beginning in 2022 and continuing through 2025, the U.S. Mint will be issuing 5 new quarters each year honoring American women. Women that are trailblazers in their respective fields.

The U.S. Mint is proud to announce the first run of the “American Women Quarters Program." The first five women to appear will all be issued in 2022 and here's the list:

• Maya Angelou: celebrated writer and poet, performer, civil rights activist
• Sally Ride: physicist, educator, first American woman in space
• Anna May Wong: first Asian American Hollywood film star
• Wilma Mankiller: first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, activist for Native American and women's rights
• Nina Otero-Warren: suffragette, politician, first female superintendent of Santa Fe public schools

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US Mint Acting Director Alison Doone said recently in a media statement:

These inspiring coin designs tell the stories of five extraordinary women whose contributions are indelibly etched in American culture. 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.

Images of the women will appear on the backs of select quarters starting next year. George Washington's facade will remain on the front, or "heads" side of the quarters. According to the U.S. Mint, these five women were chosen because they were hugely influential in professions from which women were previously shut out.

Kudos to the U.S. Mint for rolling out this program and to the first five women selected for the honor. I can't wait to find out who the next five honorees will be for 2023! Check out the U.S. Mint's website here for more on the story and to see how the actual images to be displayed on the currency will look.