U.S. Mint issues Harriet Tubman coins
As the years-long process to get Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill continues, Americans will be able to buy coins bearing her portrait as soon as next month.
The United States Mint announced on Wednesday that three new commemorative Tubman coins were available for pre-order starting Thursday and would ship in February.
The new coins – a gold $5, a silver dollar and a half dollar – celebrate the bicentennial of the abolitionist’s birthday.
President Biden signed legislation to create the coins in August 2022. It was introduced by Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Democrat of New York, during Black History Month in February 2020.
“As a crucial conductor on the Underground Railroad, she created a beacon of hope for slaves fleeing the ignoble cruelty of human slavery,” Rep. Meeks said in a press release at the time. “Congress can and should honor her on the bicentennial of her birthday with this commemorative coin,” he added.
Born in 1822, Mrs. Tubman was one of the key leaders of the abolitionist movement who, after escaping slavery, helped free slaves through what was known as the Underground Railroad. During the Civil War, she helped the Union recruit black soldiers.
The coin designs were released by the American currency in July. The price of each coin carries a surcharge (added to the face value) that goes to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati and the Harriet Tubman Home, Inc., a nonprofit organization that owns her home in Auburn, NY. of Harriet, manages. Tubman National Historical Park.
The $5 coin carries a $35 surcharge. It features a post-Civil War portrait of Mrs. Tubman and includes seven of her core values on the reverse: faith, freedom, family, community, self-determination, social justice and equality, according to the US Currency.
The $1 coin, which features a statuesque Mrs. Tubman extending her hand on the obverse, carries a $10 surcharge; The half-dollar coin, which features a full-body portrait of Mrs. Tubman on the reverse, carries a $5 surcharge.
The final price of each coin covers the face value, the markup, and production and other overhead costs. A set is listed with each of the three coins $836.25 on the Mint website. A single half dollar coin is listed for $47.
Although the new coins are intended as collectibles and not minted for general circulation, they are still legal tender and represent the best chance that Mrs. Tubman’s likeness will soon appear in U.S. currency.
The effort to print a redesigned $20 bill, replacing President Andrew Jackson’s portrait with that of Mrs. Tubman, has been delayed for years.
The Obama administration set a 2020 deadline to unveil the redesign, but in 2019, Steven Mnuchin, then Treasury Secretary, announced that the deadline would not be met due to a technical delay related to the security features on the bill.
In 2021, Jen Psaki, then the White House press secretary, said the Treasury Department would explore ways to speed up the process of adding Ms. Tubman’s portrait to the $20 bill. That same year, two senators urged Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen in a letter to make the redesign a priority.
“We sincerely hope this is no longer the case and encourage Ms. Tubman’s prioritization before working on other redesigns,” wrote Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, and Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska.
Ms. Yellen said in late 2022 that work was still underway to place Ms. Tubman on the bill.
A new $20 bill is now being issued by 2030.