Meet the Five Iconic American Women Gracing the 2024 Quarters

National Women's History Month is a perfect time to remind us all that since 2022, the United States Mint has been making quarters with women on them. It's all part of the American Women Quarters Program that celebrates the contributions made by women in a domain that's always been dominated by all men.

Well, let me backtrack briefly. According to the Fast Company website, the first time a woman appeared on a coin was in 1979 with the Susan B. Anthony Dollar. The Sacagawea Golden Dollar Coin followed 21 years later in 2000 and Helen Keller appeared on Alabama’s state quarter in 2003.

If you just sift through your wallet, the bottom of your handbag, or change even your bowl you're sure to find some of these quarters. You can also buy them on the US Mint website.

Before I introduce you to the women of 2024 here's a reminder of the women already in circulation.

2022

• Maya Angelou – celebrated writer, performer, and social activist
• Dr. Sally Ride – physicist, astronaut, educator, and first American woman in space
• Wilma Mankiller – the first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation
• Nina Otero-Warren – suffrage leader and the first woman superintendent of Santa Fe public schools
• Anna May Wong – first Chinese American film star in Hollywood

2023

• Bessie Coleman – first African American and first Native American woman licensed pilot
• Edith Kanakaʻole – indigenous Hawaiian composer, custodian of native culture and traditions
• Eleanor Roosevelt – leader, reformer, first lady, and author
• Jovita Idar – Mexican-American journalist, activist, teacher, and suffragist
• Maria Tallchief – America’s first prima ballerina

Now for 2024, thank you, and welcome to the American Women Quarters Program.

2024

• Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray – poet, writer, activist, lawyer, and Episcopal priest
• Patsy Takemoto Mink – first woman of color to serve in Congress
• Dr. Mary Edwards Walker – Civil War era surgeon, women’s rights and dress reform advocate
• Celia Cruz – Cuban-American singer, cultural icon, and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century
• Zitkala-Ša – writer, composer, educator, and political activist

For an encore, these are the women we're honoring in 2025 which sadly, is the last year of the program unless something changes.

2025

• Ida B. Wells – investigative journalist, suffragist, and civil rights activist
• Juliette Gordon Low – founder of Girl Scouts of the United States of America
• Dr. Vera Rubin – astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation
• Stacey Park Milbern – activist for people with disabilities
• Althea Gibson – multi-sport athlete and first Black athlete to break the color barrier at the highest level in tennis