SCARINCI INTERVIEW: UNCHOSEN 2026 COIN DESIGNS

New coins begin to circulate today, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States' founding. The coins feature pilgrims and early presidents — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. But other coins honoring civil rights figures and suffragettes won't be minted.

The special coins were authorized back in 2021 in anticipation of this year's big semiquincentennial celebration. That launched a lengthy design process that involved lots of focus groups and public outreach.

"In a democracy and a country as vast as this, the only way to do this is exactly the way Congress decided it should be done, which is to form a committee of people from different regions of the country, different perspectives, and let them talk it through," says Donald Scarinci, who has served on the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee for two decades.

The committee ultimately recommended five commemorative quarters to roll out during the year. One would feature Frederick Douglass, to mark the abolition of slavery. Another would highlight the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. A third coin would have shown 6-year-old Ruby Bridges, to celebrate school desegregation and the civil rights movement.

 

The idea of the series was to honor not only the 250-year-old Declaration of Independence but also some of the battles fought in the centuries that followed to help realize that founding creed.

"We struggled as a nation with civil rights," Scarinci says. "We struggled as a nation with women's suffrage. But we persevered and we've made, at least in some situations, some progress."

But when the Trump administration unveiled the new anniversary coins a few weeks ago, the Frederick Douglass, Ruby Bridges and suffragette quarters had been scrapped, replaced by coins featuring pilgrims, the Revolutionary War and the Gettysburg Address.

"We saw designs we'd never seen before," says Scarinci, who boycotted the unveiling ceremony.

 
Semiquincentennial Dime

 
Semiquincentennial Mayflower Compact Quarter

 
Semiquincentennial Revolutionary War Quarter

 
Semiquincentennial Declaration of Independence Quarter

 
Semiquincentennial Constitution Quarter

 
Semiquincentennial Gettysburg Address Quarter

To read the complete article, see:
New redesigned coins marking nation's 250th birthday begin circulating today (https://www.npr.org/2026/01/05/nx-s1-5660747/new-redesigned-coins-250th-anniversary)

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
U.S. MINT SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL COIN LAUNCH (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n50a23.html)
UNCHOSEN SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL COIN DESIGNS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n50a24.html)
MORE ON THE UNCHOSEN SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL COINS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n50a25.html)

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