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    The Bessie Coleman Quarter History and Facts

    Bessie Coleman Quarter History and Facts

    As part of its American Women Quarters series, the US Mint chose to honor Bessie Coleman, an early and important pioneer in the field of aviation. Her life, although brief, left an indelible impact on both aviation and American history.

    Unfortunately, her story may not be as well-known as it deserves to be. The somewhat-similar narrative of the life of Amelia Earhart – with its far more dramatic and ambiguous conclusion – likely stuck more resolutely in the minds of American schoolchildren and historians.

    However, it is important that Ms. Coleman’s story is known, if for no other reason than to understand fully how justified her placement on an American coin is.

    Biography

    Bessie Coleman was born on Jan. 26, 1892. She was born to Susan and George Coleman in Atlanta, Texas – a small community in the northeastern corner of the state.

    Both of her parents were African-American sharecroppers – tenant farmers who gave landowners some of their crops as a payment for leasing the land. Life was hard for the Coleman family, and it was made more difficult when George, who had Native American heritage, left to seek his fortune in Oklahoma.

    Her mother shouldered the burdens of single motherhood in a time when such a thing was quite unusual, much less supported by the community – especially for a person of color. Nevertheless, Susan instilled the values of education and curiosity into her family – especially Bessie.

    However, the presence of Jim Crow during this time period made growing up black quite difficult. Bessie Coleman faced long walks and difficult conditions to attend school, and her school options were extremely limited.

    Coleman stayed in and around the north Texas/Oklahoma region until she was 23 years old. Although she’d graduated from high school, her limited finances only saw her through a single semester of college.

    In 1915, she left for Chicago to work as a manicurist. She undoubtedly chose Chicago due to the presence of some of her older brothers, who provided a social safety net for her relocation.

    It was during this period that Bessie became enthralled by the flight stories coming back from World War I. She wanted to become a pilot herself.

    However, the US did not have any aviation schools open to minority people at that time. So, in 1921, Bessie Coleman learned French and moved to Paris to attend the Société des Avions Caudron.

    After 8 months, she received her international pilot’s license. She returned to the United States shortly afterward, and became the first African-American woman to perform a flight in public. Coleman spent the next four years performing as a stunt aviator and parachutist.

    Sadly, her pioneering contributions were cut short in 1926. Bessie Coleman died while rehearsing for a show in Jacksonville, Florida. She was only 34.

    Legacy

    Though Coleman only performed for about four years, her impact on the history of the US has reverberated for decades after her untimely death.

    At the time of her death, she received only modest coverage due to her race. Her training partner, William Wills, was white, and was erroneously credited with training Coleman how to fly.

    However, only three years later, she became the namesake of a flight school in Los Angeles. She was chosen by another African-American pilot, William J. Powell, who wanted to honor her.

    She has gone on to be a sort of patron saint for female aviators. Notably, Mae Jemison – the first African-American woman to go to space – cited her as an influence and carried a picture of her on that historic 1992 flight.

    Coleman became the subject of a postage stamp in 1995. Finally, she was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2006.

    The 2023 Quarter

    The United States Mint unveiled its American Women Quarters Program in 2022. It listed all of its honorees up front, and designated Bessie Coleman to be part of the 2023 mintage.

    As is the case with all US quarter-pieces since 1932, the Bessie Coleman quarter features the image of George Washington on its obverse. Needless to say, all Bessie Coleman quarters bear the 2023 mintmark.

    Coleman’s legacy is commemorated on the reverse of the coin. Her name is scripted as if emblazoned on a plane, and depicts Coleman pulling on her flight cap while facing to the right.

    Above her, a biplane flies in the sky. Interestingly, the biplane is one common error location – its wings are sometimes depicted with a missing chip.

    At the bottom of the coin is the date she received her flight license. Her graduation date from the Société des Avions Caudron – June 15, 1921 – is the fitting coda to the coin’s design.

    If you find one of these quarters, be sure to save it. If for no other reason, her story is one to tell.

    All Market Updates are provided as a third party analysis and do not necessarily reflect the explicit views of JM Bullion Inc. and should not be construed as financial advice.