Trailblazing Women Who Have Been Featured on Currency Worldwide

Published: December 6, 2024 by Lori Kinney

Throughout history, men have been widely recognized for their contributions to society, while women, despite their significant impact, have not always received the same level of acknowledgment. In the United States, there are roughly 300 statues honoring real women, compared to around 5,000 statues honoring men. This disparity in recognition reflects a broader global trend where women have often been overlooked and not given the accolades they truly deserve.

While they may not yet have the same level of appreciation their male counterparts may enjoy, numerous women, and the contributions they have made to society, don’t always go unnoticed and the true testimonial of how a country sincerely feels about women deserving of recognition is whether or not they are depicted on its currency. Several nations on every continent have honored their prominent female citizens, recent and ancient alike, by putting their likenesses on their legal tender.

To compile a list of women whose image has graced currency across the globe, 24/7 Tempo has gleaned information from sources such as Banknote World, Visual Capitalist, the National Museum of American History, and Mintage World, as well as several encyclopedia sites. The list is limited to paper currency and may include women who appeared on bank notes that are no longer in circulation, such as Germany’s Deutsche Mark and Italy’s lira, both supplanted by the euro in 1999 and 2002 respectively.

The late Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving sovereign in British history, appears on banknotes in 19 different currencies, reflecting how far the British Monarchy stretches. (It typically takes around two years for the U.K. to swap out monarchs on their money, with new banknotes featuring King Charles starting June 2024.) Images of other queens appear on currency as well, among them Dido of Carthage, and Teuta of Illyria. Other political leaders honored on banknotes included Israel’s Golda Meir and Corazon C. Aquino of the Philippines, both the first female heads of state in their respective countries. (These are the most iconic female rulers in history.)

It’s not only women in political leadership roles who appear on paper money, of course. Poets like Juana de Ibarbourou (Uruguay) and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (Mexico) have graced banknotes as well as opera singers Birgit Nilsson (Denmark) and Jenny Lind (Sweden). Then there are the suffragettes, immortalized on currency like social activists and reformers of various kinds, some of whom paid for their commitment to liberty with their lives.

Here are trailblazing women that have been featured on currency worldwide:

Agnes of Bohemia (1211-1282)

Recognized for: Bohemian princess
Country: Czech Republic
Denomination: 50 koruna

Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002)

Recognized for: Author of “Pippi Longstocking”
Country: Sweden
Denomination: 20 kronor

Birgit Nilsson (1918-2005)

Recognized for: Opera singer
Country: Sweden
Denomination: 500 kronor

Božena Němcová (1820-1862)

Recognized for: Author
Country: Czech Republic
Denomination: 500 koruna

Carmen Lyra (1888-1949)

Recognized for: Author and educator
Country: Costa Rica
Denomination: 20,000 colones

Catherine Flon (Unknown)

Recognized for: Creator of the Haitian flag
Country: Haiti
Denomination: 10 gourdes

Cesária Évora (1941-2011)

Recognized for: Singer-songwriter
Country: Cape Verde
Denomination: 2,000 escudos

Clara Schumann (1819-1896)

Recognized for: Pianist and composer
Country: Germany
Denomination: 100 Deutsche Mark

Corazon C. Aquino (1933-2009)

Recognized for: First female president of the Philippines
Country: The Philippines
Denomination: 500 pesos

Dido

Recognized for: Queen and founder of Carthage
Country: Tunisia
Denomination: 10 dinars

Edith Cowan (1861-1932)

Recognized for: Suffragette
Country: Australia
Denomination: 50 dollars

Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845)

Recognized for: Prison reformer
Country: United Kingdom
Denomination: 5 pounds

Emmy Destinn (1878-1930)

Recognized for: Opera singer
Country: Czech Republic
Denomination: 2,000 koruna

Eva Perón (1919-1952)

Recognized for: First lady of Argentina
Country: Argentina
Denomination: 100 pesos

Fatma Aliye Topuz (1862-1936)

Recognized for: First female novelist in the Muslim world
Country: Turkey
Denomination: 50 lire

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)

Recognized for: Nurse, medical reformer
Country: United Kingdom
Denomination: 10 pounds

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)

Recognized for: Artist, Communist Party militant
Country: Mexico
Denomination: 500 pesos

Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957)

Recognized for: Nobel Prize-winning author
Country: Chile
Denomination: 5,000 pesos

Golda Meir (1898-1978)

Recognized for: Prime minister
Country: Israel
Denomination: 10 shekels

Greta Garbo (1905-1990)

Recognized for: Actress
Country: Sweden
Denomination: 100 kronor

Higuchi Ichiyō (1872-1896)

Recognized for: Author and poet
Country: Japan
Denomination: 5,000 yen

Jane Austen (1775-1817)

Recognized for: Author
Country: United Kingdom
Denomination: 10 pounds

Jenny Lind (1820-1887)

Recognized for: Opera singer
Country: Sweden
Denomination: 50 kronor

Josefa Llanes Escoda (1898-1945)

Recognized for: Founder, Philippines Girl Scouts
Country: Philippines
Denomination: 1,000 pesos

Juana de Ibarbourou (1892-1979)

Recognized for: Poet
Country: Uruguay
Denomination: 1,000 pesos

Kate Sheppard (1847-1934)

Recognized for: Suffragette
Country: New Zealand
Denomination: 10 dollars

Kirsten Flagstad (1895-1962)

Recognized for: Opera singer
Country: Norway
Denomination: 100 kroner

Kurmanjan Datka (1811-1907)

Recognized for: Stateswoman
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Denomination: 50 som

Ladi Kwali (1925-1984)

Recognized for: Ceramicist
Country: Nigeria
Denomination: 20 naira

Lesya Ukrainka (1871-1913)

Recognized for: Poet and author
Country: Ukraine
Denomination: 200 hryvnia

Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi (1799-1866)

Recognized for: Heroine of War of Independence
Country: Venezuela
Denomination: 20 bolívares

Maria Montessori (1870-1952)

Recognized for: Educator
Country: Italy
Denomination: 1,000 lire

Marie Curie (1867-1934)

Recognized for: Nobel Prize-winning chemist
Country: Poland
Denomination: 20 zlote

Martha Washington (1731-1802)

Recognized for: Wife of George Washington
Country: United States
Denomination: 1 dollar

Mary Gilmore (1865-1962)

Recognized for: Poet and journalist
Country: Australia
Denomination: 10 dollars

Mary Slessor (1848-1915)

Recognized for: Missionary and activist
Country: Scotland
Denomination: 50 pounds

The Mirabal sisters (1924,1925,1926-1960)

Recognized for: Opponents of the dictatorship
Country: Dominican Republic
Denomination: 200 pesos

Nadežda Petrović (1873-1915)

Recognized for: Painter
Country: Serbia
Denomination: 200 dinars

Nanny of the Maroons (c. 1686-c. 1733)

Recognized for: National heroine of Jamaica
Country: Jamaica
Denomination: 500 dollars.

Nellie Melba (1861-1931)

Recognized for: Opera singer
Country: Australia
Denomination: 100 dollars

Pocahontas (c. 1596-1617)

Recognized for: Native American said to have saved John Smith’s life
Country: United States
Denomination: 20 dollars

Policarpa Salavarrieta (1795-1817)

Recognized for: Seamstress and spy
Country: Colombia
Denomination: 10,000 pesos

Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022)

Recognized for: Head of state of the U.K. and queen of the Commonwealth nations
Countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, New Zealand, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, St. Helena, United Kingdom
Denomination: Various