The Quarter Dollar is a United States coin worth 25 cents. From its inception until 1964, the denomination was issued in silver; it underwent several design changes, including finally the silver Washington quarter (1932 - 1964) featuring the first President of the United States on the obverse and the American Eagle on the reverse, issued then until 1998 in copper-nickel. The U.S Mint then embarked on several long term projects: the State Quarters series of 50 coins featuring each State from 1999 to 2008; in 2009, a six-coin series represented the District of Columbia and five US territories, and then the America the Beautiful program (2010 - 2021). After a brief interlude with a Washington commemorative quarter, the U.S. Mint started the American Women Quarters program in 2022.
Running until 2025, the program honours five women on five reverse designs per year, selected for "contributions to the United States in a wide spectrum of accomplishments and fields, including but not limited to suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, space, and arts". The obverse depicts George Washington with a 1931 design by Laura Gardin Fraser.
The Eleanor Roosevelt Quarter is the eighth coin in the American Women Quarters Program; it was released on ? 2023.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a first lady, author, civil liberties advocate, and Chairperson of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. She was instrumental in the passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Roosevelt was born on 11 October 1884 in New York City to a politically prominent family. In 1905, she married her distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt. After her husband was stricken with polio in 1921, Eleanor Roosevelt became increasingly active in politics. She promoted women’s political engagement, playing a leadership role in several organisations, including the League of Women Voters and the Women’s Trade Union League. Her activities were extensively covered in the media in the 1920s, making her publicly recognisable.
Roosevelt grew to more importance after her husband became president of the United States. She became the most politically active and influential first lady in history, using the position to advance many of her progressive and egalitarian goals. She traveled the nation extensively, visiting relief projects, surveying working and living conditions, and reporting to the president on her observations.
After President Roosevelt’s death in 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt continued in her public life. President Truman appointed her to the United Nations. She served as Chair of the Human Rights Commission. She worked tirelessly to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the U.N. General Assembly on 10 December 1948. Eleanor Roosevelt died on 7 November 1962, and is buried alongside her husband on their estate at Hyde Park.
Eleanor Roosevelt Quarter Dollars issued in 2023 have now been in circulation for less than one year. |