The U.S. Mint’s 2024 Harriet Tubman Commemorative Coins

Harriet Tubman in the Late 1860s

As part of its Commemorative Coin Program, the U.S. Mint will release three coins honoring Harriet Tubman. These coins include a five dollar gold coin, a silver dollar, and a half dollar. The coins will be available as a three coin set or individually.

Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Maryland in 1822 (although the exact date is unknown). She escaped to Philadelphia and freedom in 1849. After achieving her own freedom, Tubman returned to slave territory to guide others to northern states and freedom via the clandestine network of slaves, free blacks, and abolitionists known as the Underground Railroad. Following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which required law enforcement to assist in the capture and return of escaped slaves even if they were in free states, the destination became Canada.

During the Civil War, Tubman served as a nurse at U.S. camps in coastal South Carolina. She also spied and gathered intelligence for U.S. forces. Her most well known episode in the war was the Combahee Ferry Raid in June 1863. Tubman led a combined Army-Navy expedition to the Combahee River are in southeastern coastal South Carolina. The expedition consisted of three ships and elements of the 2nd South Carolina Infantry (Union), an African American Regiment under the command of Col. James Montgomery. The raid resulted in the confiscation of food and other supplies, the destruction of plantations, and the liberation of about 800 slaves.

After the war, Tubman worked on behalf of the former slaves and was a active in the women’s suffrage movement, among other causes. She died in Auburn, New York on March 10th, 1913.

The front of each coin has a portrait of Tubman in different stages of her life The front of the silver dollar has a prewar portrait, and the back features silhouettes of slaves escaping across a bridge of clasped hands, recalling Tubman’s work on the Underground Railroad. The half dollar commemorates her Civil War service as a nurse, spy, and leader of the Combahee River expedition. The front of the $5 gold coin has a post war portrait and the back of the coin honors her service on behalf of justice and equality throughout her life.

Pre sales open on January 4th with shipment in mid February. See the U.S. Mint Commemorative Coin website for details.

Harriet Tubman Commemorative Coins, U.S. Mint Images