A groundbreaking athlete, activist, and scientist are among the five remarkable women who will be commemorated in a unique run of quarters set to be minted in 2025.
Treasury Department revealed the final honorees of the four-year American Women Quarters Program on Tuesday, featuring journalist and NAACP co-founder Ida B. Wells, Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low, astronomer Vera Rubin, disabilities activist Stacey Park Milbern, and tennis and golf star Althea Gibson.
Mint Director Ventris Gibson said:
“It’s a privilege for the Mint to connect America through coins, and to tell our nation’s story through honoring the women in this amazing program. The pioneering women we have recognized are among the many in our nation’s history who have made significant contributions and championed change in their own unique way.”
According to The Hill, portraits of these influential women will grace the reverse side of a series of quarters, with the official designs set to be unveiled next year.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the first woman to hold the post, collaborated with the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, the National Women’s History Museum, and the Congressional Bipartisan Women’s Caucus to select the honorees.
Ida B. Wells, a trailblazing investigative journalist and civil rights activist, played a crucial role in inspiring the civil rights movement through her reporting on injustices in the American South in the 1890s, particularly lynching.
Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts of the USA in 1912, providing young women with a platform to learn leadership skills during the suffrage movement.
Astronomer Vera Rubin, known for her groundbreaking work on the rotation of galaxies in the 1970s, offered some of the earliest evidence of dark matter, reshaping our understanding of the universe.
Stacey Park Milbern, a leader in the disability justice movement since the early 2000s, served on disability rights boards and advocated for disability rights.
Althea Gibson, the first Black athlete to compete in tennis at the highest level and the first Black woman to win a Grand Slam title in 1956, made significant contributions to both tennis and golf.
Since the inception of the American Women Quarters Program in 2022, a total of 20 women have been featured on quarters, including writer Maya Angelou, astronaut Sally Ride, and former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
