Looks like they're pandering to wokeism. I like to think of myself as fairly well-read but, with all due respect to the people being honoured, I struggled to recall their achievements:
The 2022-2025 American Women Quarters™ Program celebrates the contributions made by American women with up to five new quarter designs each year.
www.usmint.gov
By contrast, you need to be pretty high up in the pecking order to get your mugshot on a British coin. We had a long-standing tradition that “commoners” (those not of Royal blood) were never depicted on our coins, with the exceptions of Britannia and St George, although not as portraits. Even then, portrait coins were confined to
reigning monarchs. That tradition was broken with the death of Winston Churchill in 1965, but he appeared on a commemorative crown that was not intended for general circulation (although it was technically a legal tender coin with a value of five shillings) and again in 2016 on a £5 commemorative for the 50th anniversary of his death.
Since then the tradition has only been broken four times on coins destined for general circulation:
2006: Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the engineering genius, on a £2 coin marking 200 years since his birth.
2009: Charles Darwin, the naturalist, on a £2 coin marking 200 years since his birth.
2014: Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, on a £2 coin marking 100 years since the outbreak of the WWI.
2015: Edith Cavell, the WWI nursing heroine, on a £2 coin marking 100 years since she was executed by the Germans.
There are also a few occasions for commoners where full portraits were not used:
2004: Sir Roger Bannister, the first person to break the ‘4 minute mile’, on a 50p coin for the 50th anniversary of that famous race (but only his legs are shown).
2016: Beatrix Potter, the children’s author, on a 50p coin marking the 150th anniversary of her birth (but she’s only shown in silhouette).
2017: Jane Austen, the novelist, on a £2 coin marking 200 years since her death (but she’s also only shown in silhouette).
Other than that, there have only been occasions where commoners or non-reigning royalty appeared on commemorative coins not intended for general circulation:
1981: Prince Charles, on a 25p coin (crown) marking his wedding to Lady Diana Spencer; again in 1998 on a £5 coin marking his 50th birthday; and again in 2008 on a £5 marking his 60th birthday.
1981: Lady Diana Spencer (Princess of Wales) on a 25p coin (crown) marking her wedding to Prince Charles; and again in 1999 on a £5 coin in remembrance of her death in 1997.
1980: Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on a 25p coin (crown) marking her 80th birthday; and again on a £5 coin for her 100th birthday.
2005: Lord Nelson on a £5 coin marking 200 years since his death.
2008: Queen Elizabeth I on a £5 coin marking 450 years since her accession to the throne.
1997: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on a commemorative £5 coin marking 50 years since his marriage to Queen Elizabeth II; again in 2007 marking 60 years; and again in 2011 marking his 90th birthday.
