It should be pointed out that it's *not* only dead Presidents on US coins. For a long time there were abstractions like the female forms of "Liberty" or "Columbia," but there was also the Mercury dime, the Franklin half dollar, the Susan B Anthony dollar coin and the Sacagawea dollar coin. I believe a great case can be made that Presidents are some of the *least* appropriate figures to go on bills and coins. Why mere elected officials, when we could have the likes of great Americans like Einstein, von Braun, Musk, Edison, Feynman, Patton, Salk, Carnegie, Westinghouse, Kelly Johnson, Armstrong, Wright Bros, Hubble, Tesla, Bell, Teller, Penn&Teller, Borlaug, Fermi, Lindbergh, Heinlein, Asimov, Twain?
In 1999 the US mint began a series of commemorative quarters (25
¢) instead of the "normal" ones, with Washington's face on the front and a special design on the back - starting with the individual states in order of admission to the Union, then territories, then National Parks/Forests (1 per state or territory), and 1 Historical Event (an image of Washington crossing the Delaware), and then, starting in 2022, historically important American Women. Most (if not all) of these portray the face of the woman being honored.
2022:
Maya Angelou – celebrated writer, performer, and social activist
Dr. Sally Ride – physicist, astronaut, educator, and first American woman in space
Wilma Mankiller – first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation
Nina Otero-Warren – suffrage leader and the first woman superintendent of Santa Fe public schools
Anna May Wong – first Chinese American film star in Hollywood
2023:
Bessie Coleman – first African American and first Native American woman licensed pilot
Edith Kanakaʻole – indigenous Hawaiian composer, custodian of native culture and traditions
Eleanor Roosevelt – leader, reformer, first lady, and author
Jovita Idar – Mexican-American journalist, activist, teacher, and suffragist
Maria Tallchief – America’s first prima ballerina
2024:
Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray – poet, writer, activist, lawyer, and Episcopal priest
Patsy Takemoto Mink – first woman of color to serve in Congress
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker – Civil War era surgeon, women’s rights and dress reform advocate
Celia Cruz – Cuban-American singer, cultural icon, one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century
Zitkala-Ša – writer, composer, educator, and political activist
2025:
Ida B. Wells – investigative journalist, suffragist, and civil rights activist
Juliette Gordon Low – founder of Girl Scouts of the United States of America
Dr. Vera Rubin – astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation
Stacey Park Milbern – activist for people with disabilities
Althea Gibson – multi-sport athlete, first Black athlete to break the color barrier at the highest level in tennis