Harriet Tubman commemorative $5 gold coins. (U.S. Mint)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Tribune News Service) — The U.S. Mint announced that it has released three commemorative coins this year honoring civil rights pioneer Harriet Tubman.
The release of the $5 gold coin, $1 silver coin and a half-dollar coin comes as efforts to have Tubman’s image replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill appear to be stalled. The coins honor the bicentennial of Tubman’s birth.
Tubman was an escaped slave who helped lead dozens of other slaves to freedom as a conductor with the Underground Railroad. She also was a spy, scout, guerrilla soldier and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War, according to the National Women’s History Museum.
The coins represent three periods of Tubman’s life, the U.S. Mint says. The silver dollar shows Tubman’s time as a conductor, and the half-dollar shows her holding a spyglass during the Civil War. The gold coin represents her life after the Civil War.
“Every coin produced by the United States Mint helps to tell a story that teaches us about America’s history or connects us to a special memory,” U.S. Mint Director Ventris Gibson said in a statement. “The Harriet Tubman coins celebrate the life and legacy of an incredible woman. We hope this program will honor the bicentennial of her birth and inspire others to learn more about this amazing woman.”
The gold coin is $718, the silver dollar $82, and the half-dollar is $49. The U.S. Mint says the prices include surcharges of $35 for each gold coin, $10 for each silver dollar, and $5 for each half-dollar, with the money going to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Harriet Tubman Home Inc. in Auburn, N.Y.
In 2021, President Joe Biden said his administration would resume plans to put Tubman on the $20 bill, which had been delayed during President Trump’s administration. No progress has been announced.
Last year, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, introduced a bill that would require all $20 bills printed after Dec. 31, 2026, to feature Tubman on front, NPR reports.
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