Maya Angelou quarter: Where to buy, price and all about the American Women Quarters program 

Late American poet Maya Angelou has made history once again.

Angelou has become the first Black woman to feature on a U.S. quarter. The news comes to light after a coin with Maya Angelou's face went into circulation on January 10.

According to The United States Mint, the coin is paying homage the Black rights activist as part of its American Women Quarters Program, stating that it has already started shipping the coins.

Angelou is depicted with her arms raised, a bird in flight, with a rising sun behind her, and a portrait of George Washington appears on the "heads" side. The US Mint stated that the image of Angelou was "inspired by her poetry and symbolic of how she lived."

The portrait of Angelou is present on the "tails" side of the coin (Image via U.S. Mint)

The U.S. Mint will honor 20 trailblazing women with a new series of quarters, starting with Angelou, as well as physicist and first female astronaut Dr. Sally Ride.

Their website reads:

"Beginning in 2022 and continuing through 2025, the series will feature five notable female pioneers per year from a variety of fields including women’s suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, and the arts."

Other notable women include Wilma Mankiller - the first woman elected principal chief 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, and Anna May Wong - the first Chinese-American film star in Hollywood.

Ventris C. Gibson, Mint Deputy Director, spoke about honoring the women who contributed to the American history in an official press release.

“Each 2022 quarter is designed to reflect the breadth and depth of accomplishments being celebrated throughout this historic coin program. Maya Angelou, featured on the reverse of this first coin in the series, used words to inspire and uplift.”

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Maya Angelou quarter: Where to buy?

The Maya Angelou quarter will begin shipping from 2022 through 2025. The set can be bought by enrolling into The American Women Quarters Program by filling out the form available on the official United States Mint website. Post this, the person enrolled will receive a scheduled date for the release of the quarters.

As per the site, the sets will be produced in limited quantity. The American Women Quarters Proof Set starts at $18.50 per unit, and The American Women Quarters Silver Proof Set is priced at $60 per unit.

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Brief history about Maya Angelou

Angelou rose to international prominence as an author after publishing her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She has authored more than 30 bestselling novels, poetry, and non-fiction works.

Dance, theater, journalism, and activism have all been a part of her remarkable career. She received more than 30 honorary degrees and read On the Pulse of Morning at President Clinton's inauguration in 1992.

She was the first African-American woman to write and publicly read a poem at a Presidential inauguration. Angelou was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2010.