What is Maya Angelou Quarter?
Maya Angelou, a poet, and essayist, was the first African American woman to give the presidential inaugural poem for President Bill Clinton in 1993. In her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, American history’s groundbreaking woman, Maya Angelou describes how she used books to overcome racism and trauma.
Former President Barack Obama awarded Maya Angelou with the Presidential Medal of Freedom after she acquired more than 30 honorary degrees. In 2013, she was honored with the Literarian Award. The quarter, which debuted in January as the first in the United States Mint’s “American Women” series, is the first-ever coin to recognize a Black woman in the United States.
The new quarter is part of the American Women Quarters Program, celebrating 20 significant women in American history with a series of freshly designed quarters released by the United States Mint between 2022 and 2025. Standard US quarters have George Washington on the front and a bald eagle on the back, traditional American symbols of liberty.
On one side of the Angelou quarter, Washington is still depicted. On the other hand, it features a portrait of the late Black novelist and activist, set against images of freedom from her works, including a flying bird, the sun’s rays, and Angelou’s arms raised to the sky.
What does it symbolize?
The new Maya Angelou Quarter is more than just a 25-cent coin: it’s helping to reimagine what it means to be free in the United States. Angelou is depicted as a young woman with her arms wide and a halo of sunlight surrounding her. The silhouette of a bird in flight behind her mirrors her uplighting gesture, referencing Angelou’s widely read coming-of-age memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings from 1969.
What did it take to design it?
For Angelou’s coin, the Mint explored designs from various artists, asking a preset group of outside artists to submit suggestions. Emily Damstra, on the other hand, had designed more than 40 coins and medals for the US Mint and the Royal Canadian Mint, including the quarter for Anna May Wong.
The purple martin featured in Damstra’s artwork is a native of Arkansas, where Angelou grew up. Damstra claims she didn’t intend to combine Angelou’s and the bird’s profiles. However, after experimenting with the photographs on her computer, she discovered that merging the two enhanced their impact.
What did it take to get the quarter ready?
Craig A. Campbell, the Mint’s medallic artist, created the Maya Angelou quarter after it was designed. She began by sculpting an early model out of clay and plaster and then refined it with digital tools. The Mint then utilizes the computer model to carve the design into a die stamp, which strikes the quarters at 720 coins each minute. The Angelou quarter was struck in Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. The Philadelphia Mint makes 46,800 coins each minute with 65 presses, making these some of the most beautifully crafted, mass-produced products in history.
Does it have the same value as a regular quarter?
2022-S Estimated Value in the USA Coin Book In Uncirculated (MS+) Mint Condition, the Maya Angelou American Women Quarter (Uncirculated Variety) is worth $2.28 or more. This quarter represents America’s freedom. The fact that the coins in this series are inspired by extraordinary women who have affected American history and have gone unnoticed for far too long — particularly women of color — says volumes.
Will this quarter be the only one of its kind?
Yes, Maya Angelou will host only this series of coins.
Every year, the Mint will issue five quarters honoring those who have made significant contributions to governance, humanities, science, space, the arts, suffrage, civil rights, and abolition. Hence, between 2022 and 26, we will see many new faces on coins that will hold more value than just their monetary value.
Angela Spearman is a journalist at EzineMark who enjoys writing about the latest trending technology and business news.
