
Own this American Women Quarters Program coin honoring Bessie Coleman –
The first African American and Native American female licensed pilot
This quarter was issued in 2023 as part of the first series of US coins to honor the achievements of women. The reverse design on this quarter features a portrait Bessie Coleman in he... more
Own this American Women Quarters Program coin honoring Bessie Coleman –
The first African American and Native American female licensed pilot
This quarter was issued in 2023 as part of the first series of US coins to honor the achievements of women. The reverse design on this quarter features a portrait Bessie Coleman in her pilot suit preparing for flight. The date “6.15.1921” was the day she was given her pilot’s license. This coin was minted at the Philadelphia Mint.
About the American Women Quarters Program
The American Women Quarters Program is a multi-year tribute to women from diverse backgrounds, races, ethnicities, and parts of the US. They were chosen for their contributions to the abolition of slavery, civil rights activism, roles in government, as well as expertise in science, the arts, humanities and much more.
From 2022 through 2025, five new coins were released each year. Each coin features a distinctive reverse design honoring an American woman, along with her name, “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” and “QUARTER DOLLAR.” The obverse side showcases a new design of George Washington.
Aviator Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman was born on January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas. The first female African American aviator, she achieved her dream of becoming a pilot.
The tenth of thirteen children, Coleman was born to parents of African American and Cherokee ancestry. Her family moved to Waxahachie, Texas, where Coleman walked four miles each way to go to school.
In 1915, Coleman moved to Chicago, where some of her brothers lived. Working as a manicurist there, she heard stories from returning World War I pilots and decided she wanted to learn to fly. She got a second job managing a restaurant to raise money for flight school. However, no American flight schools would accept her because she was African American and a woman. Newspaper publisher Robert S. Abbott recommended that she study in Europe and featured her story in his newspaper. The newspaper and banker Jesse Binga then helped fund her trip to France to study at the prestigious Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
After leaning French, Coleman arrived in Paris on November 20, 1920. She learned to fly the Nieuport 564 and earned her pilot license on June 15, 1921. She was the first black woman and first Native American to earn a pilot’s license. She spent another two months in France taking additional lessons with a French ace pilot before returning to the US. Upon returning home, she realized the best way to make a living was as a barnstormer, performing dangerous flying stunts. Still, no one in the US would instruct her, so she returned to Europe, getting additional training France, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Coleman returned to America and quickly became a celebrity known for her high-flying acrobatics and pinpoint landings, earning the nicknames “Queen Bess” and “Brave Bessie.” She first performed at a public airshow on September 3, 1922, at an event honoring veterans of the 369th Infantry Regiment. She was billed as “the world’s greatest woman flier.”
Coleman loved the thrill of completing dangerous stunts and the excited reactions from the crowd. She was also a vocal advocate for increased equality in aviation. Coleman refused to participate in any events that didn’t allow African Americans in the audience.
Coleman had always wanted to “make something of herself” and one of her major goals was to open a flying school for other African Americans. However, she never got the chance to achieve that goal. On April 30, 1926, she rode as a passenger in a Curtiss JN-4 she had recently purchased. The plane was in poor condition, but she asked her mechanic to fly it so she could scope out the terrain for a parachute jump she had planned for the following day. About 10 minutes into the flight, the plane went into a dive and spin. Coleman was thrown from the plane, which then crashed and exploded. She died instantly at just 34 years old. It was later discovered that a wrench used to fix the engine had been stuck in the controls.
A funeral service was held for Coleman in Florida before her body was transported to Chicago, where 10,000 mourners attended a ceremony led by Ida B. Wells. Even after her death, Bessie Coleman inspired future generations of African American pilots.