The United States Mint has unveiled the Treasury-approved designs for the first five coins in the American Women Quarters Program, to be released in 2022.

The coins are the first of 20 to be issued in the four-year program through 2025 that features coins with reverse (tails) designs emblematic of the accomplishments and contributions of American women.

The 2022 coins recognize the achievements of Maya Angelou, Dr. Sally Ride, Wilma Mankiller, Nina Otero-Warren, and Anna May Wong.

The 2022 subjects are:
Maya Angelou—celebrated writer, performer, social activist
Designer: Emily Damstra, AIP designer
Sculptor: Craig A. Campbell, medallic artist
The design 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.

Dr. Sally Ride — physicist, astronaut, educator, and first American woman to soar into space
Designer: Elana Hagler, AIP designer
Sculptor: Phebe Hemphill, medallic artist
This design depicts Dr. Ride next to a window on the space shuttle, inspired by her quote, “But when I wasn’t working, I was usually at a window looking down at Earth.”

Wilma Mankiller — first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and an activist for Native American and women’s rights
Designer: Ben Sowards, AIP designer
Sculptor: Phebe Hemphill, medallic artist
This design depicts Wilma Mankiller with a resolute gaze to the future. The wind is at her back, and she is wrapped in a traditional shawl. To her left is the seven-pointed star of the Cherokee Nation.

Nina Otero-Warren — a leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement and the first female superintendent of Santa Fe public schools
Designer: Chris Costello, AIP designer
Sculptor: Craig A. Campbell, medallic artist
The design features an image of Nina Otero-Warren on the left, flanked by three individual Yucca flowers — New Mexico’s state flower.

Anna May Wong — first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, who left a legacy for women in the film industry
Designer: Emily Damstra, AIP Designer
Sculptor: John P. McGraw,  Medallic Artist
This design features a close-up image of Anna May Wong with her head resting on her hand, surrounded by the bright lights of a marquee sign.

The obverse design of all coins is by Laura Gardin Fraser. Fraser’s design depicts a portrait of George Washington, which was originally composed and sculpted as a candidate in a contest for a coin to mark George Washington’s 200th birthday in 1932.

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