Commemorative coins aimed at celebrating America's 250th anniversary in 2026 were unveiled by the mint on Dec. 10, 2025, and they reflect the country's currently divided politics and views of history. In an unexpected move, most of the original designs for the 'America 250' coins that were approved by two official committees in 2024 were abandoned and replaced. Most notably, the Black Abolition, Women's Suffrage and Civil Rights quarters were replaced with quarters that instead commemorate the Mayflower Compact, Revolutionary War and the Gettysburg Address. As a cultural geographer and coin collector, I believe the release of these new dimes, quarters and half-dollars offers a reminder that coins, despite their small size, share important messages about what it means to be an American. The production of these America 250 coins, part of the celebration formally referred to as the 'American Semiquintennial,' was authorized by the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020,...
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