The Susan B. Anthony Dollar coin was minted for three years from 1979 to 1981, as the first small sized dollar coin. With the introduction of the Eisenhower dollar, the silver content had already been taken out of the largest denomination of American coinage, but the large sized dollars had been too cumbersome to be circulate. Large quantities of SBA dollars were minted to replace them, but circulation was extremely limited. During the 1990’s, Anthony Dollars came in use when vendor machines returned the coins as change, and new coins were struck in 1999, after the longest gap in production for any series of American coinage.
President Carter signed the Susan B. Anthony Dollar Coin Act into law in October 1978, which authorized the production of the new coins. The obverse would feature a portrait of Susan B. Anthony, a famous figure in women’s rights. It was designed by US Mint Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro based on plate that appeared in the 1881 six volume set History of Woman Suffrage. The word LIBERTY is above her head, and thirteen stars are surrounding, configured seven to the right and six to the left. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST is in the right field, and the date is below.
The reverse features the same design used on the Eisenhower dollar, but in a smaller format. Based on the insignia from the Apollo 11 moon mission, the reverse features an eagle flying over the moon, with an olive branch in its claws. Thirteen stars are circled around the eagle, and the earth, as seen from the moon is just above its head. E PLURIBUS UNUM is in the upper field, just under UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The denomination, spelled as ONE DOLLAR is covering the lower part of the moon.
Before the Susan B. Anthony Dollar was released into circulation, over 500 million coins had already been produced in late 1978 and early 1979 to ensure an adequate national supply. When the coins were eventually launched in July 1979, the design proved extremely unpopular. Although there had been a major campaign to stimulate the circulation of the new dollar coin, the public argued that it was too hard to distinguish from a quarter, which was nearly the same size. The Mint had tried to solve this problem, by giving it the appearance of being eleven-sided instead of round, but this was little help. Many vendors did not except the coins either, and they were soon forgotten and only circulated in the Nevada casinos.
The number of SBA Dollars minted for circulation in 1980 was significantly lower than the overly optimistic production which took place the prior year. Coinage for circulation was completely halted by 1981, with only pieces produced for collectors that year. Minting the dollars came to a complete stop in 1982, when no new pieces were needed because of the oversupply at the treasury. This remained the case until the 1990s, when the increased use in vending machines finally exhausted the supply in storage. Because the Sacagawea dollar was not to be introduced until 2000, additional pieces were struck in 1999, after an eighteen year hiatus in coinage. This was the longest hiatus between two dates in the same series, just longer the Morgan Dollar series which was not struck for seventeen years in the early twentieth century.
