5 Nominations For The #WomenOnQuarters Campaign

It's such a gross relic of our male-centric history that our currency is covered with dudes. Like, congratulations on your white penises, guys, but maybe it's time to step off our money and let some ladies take the center stage. That's exactly what the #WomenOnQuarters petition is trying to do: convince the treasury to replace the state quarter collection with a collection of quarters featuring 50 great American women.

Of course, the conversation about putting women on quarters comes on the heels of the announcement that a woman will be featured on the $10 bill starting in 2020. It's taken way too long for the idea of putting women on our money to take root, but now that it has, there's a whole world of possibilities out there. The quarter petition is called “#WomenOnQuarters: Create A New Set of Quarters Featuring Great American Women!”; begun by Pennsylvania resident Kelly Irwin, the idea was meant to serve as an inspiration for younger generations: Irwin thought it would be cool for her boyfriend's 11-year-old daughter to be able to collect quarters with inspirational women on them.

The petition quickly surpassed its initial goal of 10,000 signatures and is now hovering close to the 20,000 mark — and no wonder, because honestly, this is a really cool idea. 50 quarters means that we have 50 opportunities to showcase incredible American women — women who so often get relegated to a passing mention in history textbooks (or don't even get mentioned at all).

Sure, there are tons of decently well-known historical ladies that we can think of to grace our 25 cent pieces (looking at you Eleanor Roosevelt, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Amelia Earhart), but what about amazing historical women who get overlooked? Here are five ladies you probably haven't heard of who should definitely be on our quarters:

1. Sybil Ludington

You know how Paul Revere is... well, revered, for riding around all night warning the patriots that the British were coming during the Revolutionary War? Well, what if I told you that there was a 16-year-old girl who rode twice as far in the freezing winter rain to get the same message out? Because that's what Ludington did on the night of April 26, 1777.

2. Claudette Colvin

Rosa Parks is amazing — no one is denying that — but it's worth noting that Claudette Colvin is actually the OG Rosa Parks. Coleman was the first woman arrested for refusing to abide by bus segregation on March 2, 1955, about nine months before Rosa Parks did so more famously.

3. Agent 355

Agent 355 is like 007 but so much cooler. She was one of George Washington's most trusted spies during the American Revolution. Since her identity is still unknown, I like the idea of putting just a big question mark on the coin with "Agent 355" stamped on it. If we really need a recognizable face, though, we could stamp the coin with a picture of Anna Strong, the badass spy widely speculated to be Agent 355.

4. Jeanette Rankin

Pop quiz: Who was the first woman to ever be elected to congress? Answer: Jeanette Rankin. When she won her seat in the House in 1916, she was quoted as saying, "I may be the first woman member of Congress, but I won’t be the last." True that, Jeanette.

5. Jackie Mitchell

There was a brief period of time where women played in the MLB, before it was ruled "too strenuous" for ladies. Jackie Mitchell was one of the first professional baseball pitchers, who struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gherig in succession during an exhibition.

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