Obverse. Photo © Monetnik.ru
  • 25 Cents 2022, KM# 766, United States of America (USA), American Women Quarters Program, Maya Angelou
  • 25 Cents 2022, KM# 766, United States of America (USA), American Women Quarters Program, Maya Angelou
Description

The American Women Quarters Program is a four-year program that celebrates the accomplishments and contributions made by women to the development and history of the country. Beginning in 2022, and continuing through 2025, the U.S. Mint will issue up to five new reverse designs each year.

The American Women Quarters may feature contributions from a variety of fields, including, but not limited to, suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, space, and the arts. The women honored will be from ethnically, racially, and geographically diverse backgrounds. The Public Law requires that no living person be featured in the coin designs.

The Maya Angelou Quarter is the first coin in the American Women Quarters™ Program.

Obverse

Depicts a portrait of George Washington facing right, "Liberty" above, "In God We Trust" on the left and date with mint mark below on the right.

The portrait was originally composed and sculpted by Laura Gardin Fraser. It was the recommended design for the 1932 quarter to mark Washington’s 200th birthday, but then-Treasury Secretary Mellon ultimately selected the left-facing John Flannigan design. Laura Gardin Fraser was one of the most prolific female sculptors of the early 20th century. She designed the Alabama Centennial Half Dollar in 1921, becoming the first woman to design a U.S. coin. The Mint used her George Washington design on a 1999 gold commemorative half eagle coin marking the 200th anniversary of Washington’s death.

George Washington (1732–1799) was the first President of the United States (1789–97), the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He presided over the convention that drafted the current United States Constitution and during his lifetime was called the "father of his country".

LIBERTY
IN GOD
WE
TRUST
2022
D
LGF

Reverse

Depicts Maya Angelou with her arms uplifted. Behind her are a bird in flight and a rising sun, images inspired by her poetry and symbolic of the way she lived.

Maya Angelou (1928–2014) was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim. She was respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture.

Angelou read “On the Pulse of Morning” at the 1992 inauguration of President Clinton. Angelou’s reading marked the first time an African American woman wrote and presented a poem at a presidential inauguration. She was also only the second poet in history to do so, following Robert Frost, who recited a poem at President Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961.

Sculptor: Craig Campbell
Designer: Emily Damstra

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
MAYA
ANGELOU
CAC
E PLURIBUS
UNUM
ESD
QUARTER DOLLAR

Edge
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Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Copper Nickel Clad Copper
Weight 5.67 g
Diameter 24.26 mm
Thickness 1.75 mm
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mints
Denver Mint (D)
Philadelphia Mint (P)
San Francisco Mint (S)

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