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U.S. Mint Unveils Coin Designs in Honor of Abolitionist Harriet Tubman

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The United States Mint recently unveiled the design of three bicentennial commemorative coins in honor of Harriet Tubman. The coins were revealed Sunday, July 23. 2023, at the African Methodist Episcopal Zion’s (A.M.E.Z.) Women’s Home and Overseas Missionary Society Quadrennial Conference at the New Orleans Hilton Hotel Riverside.

“I am honored to announce the designs of the coins for the 2024 Harriet Tubman Commemorative Coin Program,” said United States Mint Director Ventris C. Gibson. “These beautiful designs celebrate the life, achievements, and legacy of an extraordinary woman, and add to the Mint’s rich history of telling our nation’s story through numismatic art.”

Born into slavery in 1822, Harriet Tubman, who lived until 1910, was an extraordinary American patriot who bequeathed her land and legacy to the A.M.E. Zion Church. The denomination established the Harriet Tubman Home, Inc. to be the stewards of her legacy.

“The historic reveal of these coins marks another historic event as it will be led by Ventris Gibson, the first woman and the first African American to lead the US Mint. Harriet is smiling today,” stated Bishop Dennis V. Proctor of the North Eastern Episcopal District and Board Chair of the Harriet Tubman Home, Inc. “We, the AMEZ Church, have protected and preserved Harriet Tubman’s legacy and have looked for meaningful ways to accurately share the history of her faith and fortitude. The three coins provide such an opportunity.”

The three coins are the following denominations: a 50-cent clad, one silver dollar, and a 5-dollar gold coin. The coins represent Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad years, her Civil War years, and the extraordinary 54 years she lived in freedom as well as her many humanitarian acts.

In the tradition of Harriet Tubman, the goal of the coins is to reach beyond the traditional coin-collecting community and provide an opportunity for families to own a piece of Tubman's history.

The Harriet Tubman Home, Inc. is joined by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in working with the U.S. Mint to bring the coins to the public.

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