It's Time For change

2022 is a new year, not only filled with new opportunities, but also new coins. In this article, Deenie shares the new 2022 quarters with you.

The 2022 Quarters

By Deenie Bulyalert

History of the United States Coin

Currency is a necessity, no matter where someone may be in the world. Whether someone uses a credit card to buy groceries, or an NFT (Non-fungible Token) to buy something online, those are forms of currency.

The Coinage Act was passed on Apr. 2, 1792 in Philadelphia. This act established the first national mint in the United States. According to the United States Mint, “The Act specified the following coinage denominations:

In copper: half cent and cent
In silver: half dime, dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar
In Gold: quarter eagle ($2.50), half eagle ($5), and eagle ($10)”

Coin production began immediately, but the Mint struggled to produce enough coins for many years, following the passing of the Coinage Act. Later on, though, the United States mint's production was able to meet the needs of the growing nation and provide some of the designs of the circulating coins we know today. On Mar. 1, 1793, the first batch of circulating coins, consisting of 11,178 copper cents, were delivered.

In 1796, the United States quarter was issued. The United States Mint says, “the first quarter made by the U.S. Mint in 1796 was silver. The designs from 1796 to 1930 showed Liberty on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse.” By 1932, George Washington was displayed on the US Quarter, designed by John Flanagan.

Women on the Quarter

On Oct, 6th. 2021, the US Mint announced the 2022 quarter design part of the American Women Quarters Program. This four-year program will feature 5 women throughout history. "The five women who will be honored in the first five quarters in the program – Maya Angelou, Sally Ride, Wilma Mankiller, Nina Otero-Warren, and Anna May Wong," stated CoinWeek.

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was born on Apr. 4, 1928 and passed away in 2014 at the age of 86. She was an American Poet "dancer, singer, activist, scholar [and} author," according to the National Women's History Museum. "She established her literary reputation in 1970 with “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” a memoir detailing the racism and abuse she endured during her harrowing childhood," published in an article by the Washington Post. Throughout Angelou's life she won three Grammys, all for her spoken-word pieces. In 1993, she was invited, by President Bill Clinton, to read one of her original poems called "On The Pulse Of Morning," at Clinton's first inauguration. Angelou was also awarded the 2010 Medal of Freedom according to US News. Maya Angelou will be featured on one of the quarters being released by the American Women Quarters Program. The Maya Angelou quarter was designed by Emily Damstra and sculpted by Craig A. Campbell.

Photo Credits: Chester Higgins, Jr.

Photo Credits: Bettmann/Getty Images

Sally Ride

Dr. Sally Ride was an astronaut and the first woman to go to space. She was born in May 26, 1951 and, according to UC San Diego’s website, Sally Ride Science, in Aug. 1979, she "became eligible for assignment as an astronaut on a space shuttle flight crew. She was selected as a mission specialist for mission STS-7 aboard the shuttle Challenger." Ride finished her Ph.D in physics in 1977 from Stanford University. In 1983, she was aboard the space shuttle Challenger and she was not only the first woman to go to space, but also the youngest American.

Wilma Mankiller

Wilma Mankiller was part of the Cherokee Nation. In 1985, Mankiller was elected to be the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. She was the first female chief and also the "first woman elected as chief of a major Native tribe." Mankiller was born on Nov. 18, 1945 in the capital of the Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. She was an activist who focused on the improvement of water and housing. She founded the Community Development Department for the Cherokee Nation and the first project she worked on was providing resources for "a small Cherokee community of 200 families with no running water, high unemployment, and a persistent sense of disempowerment," according to the National Women's History Museum. Wilma Mankiller's name "derives from the high military rank achieved by a Cherokee ancestor," stated by the American Indian Education Foundation. She passed away in 2010. Her quarter was designed by Ben Sowards and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill.

Photo Credits: Michael Wyke

Nina Otero-Warren

Nina Otero-Warren was born on Oct. 23, 1881. She played a “ critical role in getting the 19th Amendment ratified in New Mexico,” Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. During the women's suffrage movement, Otero-Warren was selected as New Mexico’s head of the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage. According to the National Park Service, she also “took the job as Superintendent of Public Schools in Santa Fe County -- a job she held until 1929, working to improve the conditions in rural Hispano and Native American communities.” Otero-Warren wanted to ensure that the traditions and cultures of minority communities weren’t lost while the federal government pressured these communities into assimilating. She ran for federal office in 1921 and lost the election by less than nine percent. Otero-Warren died on Jan. 03, 1965, but not without major accomplishments in her life. The designer of her quarter is Chris Costello and Craig A. Campbell is the sculptor.

Anna May Wong

Anna May Wong was an Asian American Actress born in 1905. The National Women’s History Museum notes, “Appearing in over sixty movies throughout her career, Anna May Wong was the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood.” Wong’s work went on to find success in both Hollywood and Europe, even while being limited to roles that fit the Asian stereotype that white producers wanted. She created her own production company called Anna May Wong Productions in Mar. of 1924. It eventually closed down, but she did not allow that to stop her. Anna May Wong moved to Europe because of the discrimination she went through in America. She was given lead roles and later starred in the Broadway production of On The Spot. The designer of the quarter is Emily Damstra and it is sculpted by John P. McGraw.

Photo Credits: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

The United States Mint has officially begun the shipping process of the First American Women Quarters, so if you are still someone who uses cash and change, look out for these news quarters.

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