Susan B. Anthony Dollar

The Susan B. Anthony Dollar was introduced to replace the large, unpopular Eisenhower Dollar with a smaller, more practical coin, while also making history as the first U.S. circulating coin to feature a specific, named American woman. Its portrait honors Susan B. Anthony, a leading figure in the women's suffrage movement.

Despite the historic significance of its design, the coin struggled in circulation because its size and color were easily confused with the quarter dollar, leading the public to largely reject it. Collectors nonetheless value the series for its symbolism, its role as a bridge between the Eisenhower Dollar and later Sacagawea Dollar, and specific varieties like the 1979 'Wide Rim' and 'Narrow Rim' obverse types.

A brief final issue in 1999 was struck to fill a demand gap before the golden Sacagawea Dollar launched in 2000, giving the series an unusual 20-year gap between its main run and its final year.

The Eisenhower Dollar, large and heavy like older silver dollars, proved unpopular and costly to produce, prompting Congress to authorize a smaller, more efficient dollar coin under the Susan B. Anthony Dollar Coin Act of 1978. Frank Gasparro, the Mint's Chief Engraver, designed both the obverse portrait of Anthony and the reverse, which reused the Apollo 11 mission insignia design from the Eisenhower Dollar reverse.

The coin launched in 1979 with the hope that its smaller size would encourage everyday use, particularly in vending machines and transit systems, but its similarity in size, color, and weight to the quarter dollar caused widespread public confusion and rejection. Production for general circulation was limited mainly to 1979 and 1980, with a smaller 1981 run struck mainly for collector sets rather than circulation.

In 1999, the Mint struck an additional run of Anthony Dollars to meet demand from vending and transit industries after Eisenhower Dollar reserves ran low, bridging the gap until the new Sacagawea Dollar debuted in 2000.

The obverse depicts a right-facing portrait of Susan B. Anthony with 'LIBERTY' above, the date below, and 'IN GOD WE TRUST' to the left. The reverse shows an eagle landing on the moon, adapted from the Apollo 11 mission patch design, surrounded by 'UNITED STATES OF AMERICA' and 'ONE DOLLAR,' with a ring of small stars representing the American flag placed on the moon during the mission.

The coin has a distinctive eleven-sided (hendecagonal) inner border visible around the rim on both sides, a feature meant to help users distinguish it by touch and appearance from the round quarter, though this distinction did not fully solve public confusion in practice. Mintmarks appear on the obverse near Anthony's shoulder: 'P' for Philadelphia, 'D' for Denver, and 'S' for San Francisco (used for proofs and some circulation strikes).

The 1979 issue includes two collectible varieties based on the size and spacing of the date numerals relative to the rim, commonly called the 'Wide Rim' (or 'Near Date') and 'Narrow Rim' (or 'Far Date') types, distinguished by how close the date sits to the coin's edge.

Most Susan B. Anthony Dollars are common and trade for modest premiums over face value in circulated condition, reflecting their large mintages and copper-nickel clad composition rather than precious metal content. The scarcer 1981 issues, struck in much lower numbers primarily for mint sets, and certain proof issues carry higher values than the more common 1979–1980 circulation strikes.

The 1979 'Wide Rim' variety is more difficult to find than the common 'Narrow Rim' type and commands a modest premium, particularly in higher mint-state grades, while the 1999 issues, though limited in scope, are generally still readily available to collectors.