Highlighting Women on Commemoratives

Although women comprise nearly 50% of the population, commemorative issues arguably lack equity in recognising the achievements of women. This, fortunately, is shifting as organisations look to highlight those who have been historically underrepresented. As 8 March marked International Women’s Day (IWD), it seemed apt this month to take a look at some recent programmes that pay tribute to several notable women. 

Final Year of AWQ 

The United States Mint's American Women Quarter Program recognises the historical contributions of women – some of which may not be as widely known to collectors and the general public – via an extensive four year programme that began with the release of five quarters in 2022. 

The American Women Quarters honour a diverse group of notable American women who made significant contributions in a variety of fields, including suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, space, and the arts. The women honoured are from ethnically, racially, and geographically diverse backgrounds. 

The fourth and final year of the AWQ Program has continued with the release of the Juliette Gordon Low quarter, honouring the founder of the Girls Scouts of the United States of America. The first of the 2025 dates coins, honouring investigative journalist, suffragist, and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells, was released earlier this year.

Established on 12 March 1912, in Savannah, Georgia, the Girls Scouts of the USA began with 18 members and has since grown to approximately 2.5 million members worldwide. The reverse design of the coin depicts a likeness of Juliette Gordon Low next to the original Girl Scout trefoil, which she designed and patented.

As with all other quarters in the series, the obverse of the coin depicts a portrait of George Washington, originally composed and sculpted by Laura Gardin Fraser to mark Washington’s 200th birthday. 

Formative Women in Germany 

A new article titled ‘Women in Focus’, published by Münze Deutschland (the German Mint) to mark the launch of its new ‘Formative Women’ series, has taken a retrospective look at women and women’s issues in the history of German collector and commemorative coins ¹. 

The article uses the US Mint’s AWQ Program as a ‘striking example’ recognising women’s achievements, describing the programme as one that ‘sets a precedent for recognising the historical contributions of women, thus complementing the predominantly male-dominated motifs offered worldwide’. 

Conversely, the Mint remarks, whilst Queen Elizabeth II adorned (and continues to adorn, in many cases) countless circulation coins around the world for decades, female motifs have been a rarity among German collector coins. A total of 443 collector and commemorative coins (including joint euro issues) have been issued in Germany since World War II, with just 15 of these featuring a female theme. 

The Mint remarked that ‘women will now be explicitly included in the German coin programme’ with the launch of the new series, which will feature a total of 12 coins dedicated to the ‘Formative Women’ theme from 2025 onwards. The series aims to raise public awareness of the diverse contributions of women throughout history and promote broader recognition in coin culture. 

The first coin in the series, which comprises €20 silver coins only, has been dedicated to the 50th anniversary of International Women’s Year (IWY). The United Nations declared 1975 as IWY, aiming to raise awareness of the situation of women worldwide and encourage governments to take measures to promote gender equality. IWD has been celebrated on 8 March since then.

The reverse of the coin depicts a mathematical equal sign in the centre, enclosed by the international symbol of a women. A linear image of a globe features on the left of the centre symbols whilst a woman’s face in profile is shown to the right. The globe and the women’s symbol are depicted graphically and linearly and the women’s profile has been given dimension using a relief technique. 

A representative of the Bundesadler (federal eagle) features on the obverse of the coin. Mintage has been limited to 90,000 pieces. 

The second coin in the series is scheduled for release in September this year, with the design honouring Elly Heuss-Knapp, a women’s advocate and co-founder of the Müttergenesungswerk (the Mothers’ Convalescence Organisation) – which marks its 75th anniversary this year. The charitable foundation aims to maintain and strengthen the health of mothers – and now also fathers and carers – with five charitable bodies working together under the umbrella organisation. 

Spain’s IWD Series 

The Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre – Real Casa de la Moneda (FNMT-RCM, or Spanish Mint) issues a commemorative coin each year to mark International Women’s Day. 

The 2025 release pays tribute to philologist (the study of language in historical contexts), lexicographer (the art of compiling dictionaries), archivist, and librarian, María Moliner. She is best known for her most ambitious project, the Dictionary of Spanish Usage, considered a major contribution to lexicography as it provided a clear explanation of the meaning of words in context.

The reverse of the coin features an image of Moliner holding a book, with the design based on an archival photograph. The international symbol for women features to her left, coloured in purple, with scattered letters that form ‘igualdad’ (‘equality’) stretching across the main design. ‘8-M International Women’s Day’ is inscribed at the bottom of the coin. 

The obverse of the coin depicts a portrait of King Felipe VI. Mintage has been limited to 4,000 pieces.

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