I’m glad the USMint is putting out new quarters featuring influential women starting next month but I’m not to happy about their pick of the five. Who decides who will be featured on the new quarters? Was there a public vote on this or was it decided by the higher ups at the mint? Two women that I would love to see on the new quarters are Christie McAuliffe in place of Dr Sally Ride who I personally never herd of until now and Betty White in place of Anna May Wong someone else I never herd of. I may get a petition going to have this done. I know it’s probably a little late with the designs they’ve come up with already but it would be nice for the next pic of women which I believe they’ll have more and not just 5 women most of us never herd of. I can understand Betty White not being picked in the first 5 seeing how her passing was recent but I damn surprised Christie McAuliffe wasn’t one of the first on that list.
If you follow NASA or Hollywood, Sally Ride and Anna Wong are perfectly good choices. The problem with this sort of commemoration is that for any one person you pick, a thousand get left out.
Another case of the mint flooding the hobby. In order to collect the set you will be fed 4 mints, clad and silver, proof, reverse proof and uncirculated, and any other combination of manufactured scarcity they can come up with. I am sure glad I cut the mint off at the end of 2021.
I have mixed feelings on these new quarters. For one, I think it's good that they're honoring influential Americans, but in my opinion, I prefer the original John Flanagan bust. Also, as others have noted, they could choose other influential women who most people wouldn't have to look up to understand why they're there. I'm not certain as to how long this series will go one, but I think the quarter should be laid to rest for a bit in terms of design changes. They need to choose a design and stick with it. Personally, I'd like a classic design not dissimilar to early 1900s coins, with a liberty motif rather than a president's bust, that we'll keep for more than ten years at least.
Think there was public input solicited...not voting...but not sure if an actual "input" count was released...would be curious to see what it was in relation to who was ultimately selected. Like so much these days, am sure some politics and other was somehow involved in reserving the right to make the final choice (think it was mentioned that the Treas Sec or other female official would do so...and if so, why solicit any input)...?
I'd like to see these that I can think of immediately off the top of my head for 5 candidates. I'll be looking for silver proof singles of my favorites, (I can think of 45 more before I give a quarter to Whoopi Goldberg) Amelia Earhart (Aviator and Entrepreneur) Molly Pitcher (Evolutionary War Heroine) Phoebe Ann Moses (Annie Oakley - Sharpshooter Wild West Show) Betsy Ross (Washington's 13 Star Flag) Ginger Rogers (Dancer and Actress)
It all comes down to politics. A committee gets a list of suggested names and then individuals "fight over" which ones get picked. They get lobbied from special interest groups too. I wish the designs would revert back to those of the past.
I think the whole idea is stupid. For commemoratives, it's OK. That's what those were for. On our official coins and currency, stick with the founders and presidents.
That is all the politicians do. Oh, they also name post offices and approve a hundred new stamps per year.
I think that it's good that they change designs, even good for the hobby. It would get awful boring with everyone collecting the same coin. I do wish that they would use more conventional artistic design instead of computer aided design. The new designs lack sensation.
I'm just gonna say that pretty much every top list of "Influential American Women" includes Sally Ride. Astronaut and Physicist. She's got a lego Minifig and a barbie doll in her honor, references in songs and on tv shows. I won't get into McAuliffe,,,, but they are on two different levels. and McAuliffe has a silver dollar commem already from 2021 something Ride never got.
And that she wasnt the only member of the crew that died that day. Quite frankly its rather disrespectful to everyone else on board that she keeps getting singled out when they all died the same way
Mint didnt have a choice, their plan was to stick with the crossing the Delaware and then congress passed a new law forcing the change.