Christa McAuliffe Silver Dollar Honors Girls in Science

March is known by many as Expanding Girls' Horizons in Science and Engineering Month, and there are few coins that honor this empowering holiday as well as the 2021 Christa McAuliffe Silver Dollar. This commemorative coin issued by the United States Mint honors the Teacher in Space program, which was to send McAuliffe, a social studies teacher from New Hampshire, into orbit alongside six NASA astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Challenger. Tragically, Challenger exploded moments after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 28, 1986, killing all seven aboard, including McAuliffe.

McAuliffe’s legacy lives on in many ways, including her desire to educate young people. One of the philanthropic organizations that keeps her memory alive is For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), which incorporated in 1989 to help make learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – disciplines cumulatively acronymized as “STEM” – more fun for children. While FIRST encourages all youth to pursue STEM in academics and in their careers, they are especially focused on helping more girls get into and thrive in the sciences.

FIRST and its mission to help engage more youth in the sciences are recognized alongside McAuliffe on the 2021 commemorative silver dollar that pays homage to the teacher who literally reached for the stars. The obverse was designed by Laurie Musser and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill, while the reverse features art by Emily Damstra and engraving by Joseph Menna.

The United States Mint issued the 2021 McAuliffe dollar for $79, with a surcharge of $10 from the sale of each McAuliffe commemorative dollar going to the FIRST robotics program. The funds were funneled toward initiatives that aimed to foster a love of science among young children. Around the time of the coin’s release in 2021, PCGS also had a Special Label program with proceeds going toward the Astronaut Memorial Fund.