Maya Angelou on the Quarter

A new quarter program is set to begin this year featuring iconic women of US history. 

By Isabelle Delostrinos
Culture Columnist

Calling all quarter collectors! It’s time to brush the dust off those coin books from middle school, a new program is hitting the production line. Starting this month, the United States Mint is introducing the American Women Quarters Program. Every year until 2025, new quarters will be released featuring iconic women from U.S. history. This is amazing news as the iconic women of US history are being given honor and recognition on a nationwide level. 

Ever since their distribution in 1990, state quarters have become a widely popular collectible item. Each year, five states were selected to be etched onto the tails side of the quarter with production ending once the year was over. Collecting these coins became a scavenger hunt as the years went on, as all you had to do was spend some cash and go through your change to find each state. The simple activity soon became popular and had many people looking closely at their quarters. 
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The first woman to be featured on the coin is celebrated writer, performer, and social activist, Maya Angelou. Her work, often described as honest and creative, has made a lasting imprint on American history. She is widely known as the author behind I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the first part of her autobiographical series. Angelou served as the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference per the request of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and was also was the first African American woman to write and present a poem at a presidential inauguration in 1992 for President Clinton. 

The quarter will feature Maya Angelou with her arms raised and uplifted while a rising sun and bird in flight stretch behind her as an ode to how she lived her life. The head’s side will feature a portrait of George Washington composed and sculpted by Laura Gardin Fraser.

Quarters featuring the following women will also be produced: 

• Dr. Sally Ride: first American woman in space
• Wilma Mankiller: first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation
• Nina Otero-Warren: leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement
• Anna May Wong: First Chinese American film star in Hollywood