How to Identify the Susan B. Anthony Dollar

What Is the Susan B. Anthony Dollar?

The Susan B. Anthony Dollar was issued from 1979 to 1981, and again in 1999, as the first US circulating coin to depict a specific, non-allegorical woman. It was introduced to replace the larger Eisenhower Dollar with a smaller coin more practical for everyday transactions, though it never achieved wide public acceptance in circulation.

Obverse Design

The obverse shows a right-facing portrait of women's suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony, with "LIBERTY" above, "IN GOD WE TRUST" beside the portrait, and the date below. The portrait style is more realistic and less idealized than traditional allegorical Liberty designs used on most earlier US coinage.

Reverse Design

The reverse, adapted from the Eisenhower Dollar design by Frank Gasparro, depicts an eagle landing on the surface of the moon while holding an olive branch, with the Earth visible in the background, commemorating the Apollo 11 moon landing; "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "E PLURIBUS UNUM," and "ONE DOLLAR" surround the scene.

Size, Weight, and the Eleven-Sided Rim

The coin is a copper-nickel clad piece about 26.5 mm in diameter, close in size to a quarter, which contributed to public confusion between the two denominations. To help distinguish it by feel and sight, the coin has an inner rim with eleven straight sides forming a subtle hendecagon shape just inside the round outer edge, a feature not found on the quarter.

Mint Marks

The mint mark appears on the obverse, near Anthony's shoulder, just above the date. "P" indicates Philadelphia, "D" Denver, and "S" San Francisco (mainly on proof coins), with 1979 being the first year mint marks were placed in that particular position on a US dollar coin.

Telling It Apart from Similar Coins

Because of its similar size and color to a quarter, the Susan B. Anthony Dollar is most reliably distinguished by its portrait and "ONE DOLLAR" denomination wording on the reverse, along with the eleven-sided inner rim detail. It should also not be confused with the later, similarly sized Sacagawea and Presidential dollar coins, which are golden in color rather than the silvery copper-nickel tone of the Anthony dollar.

Judging Condition

Grade is assessed by the sharpness of Anthony's facial features and hair detail on the obverse and the clarity of the eagle and Earth details on the reverse. Because the coin saw limited circulation compared to other denominations, many surviving examples remain in higher grades with strong original luster.

Authenticity Considerations

Because this coin has no precious metal content, counterfeiting for profit is rare; most identification issues instead involve confusing genuine examples with quarters at a glance due to similar size and metal color, or confusing the date and mint mark combination for scarcer variety identification, which is best confirmed with a magnifier and reference to established mint mark listings.