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 Dr. Vera Rubin Quarter Dollar is the eighteenth release in the American Women Quarters Program.
Vera Florence Cooper Rubin (1928 - 2016) was an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates. She uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted and observed angular motion of galaxies by studying galactic rotation curves. These results were later confirmed over subsequent decades. Her work on the galaxy rotation problem was cited by others as evidence for the existence of dark matter.
Beginning her academic career as the sole undergraduate in astronomy at Vassar College, Rubin went on to graduate studies at Cornell University and Georgetown University, where she observed deviations from Hubble flow in galaxies and provided evidence for the existence of galactic superclusters. She was honored throughout her career for her work, receiving the Bruce Medal, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, and the National Medal of Science, among others. Rubin spent her life advocating for women in science, and she was known for her mentorship of aspiring female astronomers.
Dr. Vera Rubin Quarter Dollars issued in 2025 have now been in circulation for less than one year. |
| Obverse | |
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At its centre, the obverse of the coin shows the portrait of George Washington, the first President of the United States (1789 - 1797), facing right. He has long hair, falling down in a queue.
The designer's initials LGF (for Laura Gardin Fraser) are in relief on the neck truncation.
Around above, the inscription LIBERTY. In smaller letters on two lines below left, the motto IN GOD WE TRUST.
Below right, the date of issue 2025, under which a small letter represents the mint mark.
Mint marks this year are D, P or S for Denver, Philadelphia or San Francisco mints respectively. |
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| Reverse | |
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The reverse design depicts a "profile of Dr. Vera Rubin gazing upward, smiling as she contemplates the cosmos. She is surrounded by a spiral galaxy and other celestial bodies".
Below left, the initials of the designer, CLH (for Christina Hess); below right, the initials of the sculptor, JPM (for John P. McGraw).
Around left near the rim, the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, followed by the inscription DARK MATTER.
In a smaller ark inside that, DR. VERA RUBIN. In yet another ark around the central image, the denomination QUARTER DOLLAR.
Overlaid on the portrait, on three lines the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM ("Out of many, one" - signifying unity in diversity). |
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