Wednesday 19th June 2013

One Dollar Menu

Susan B. Anthony Dollar 1979 - 1999

The Treasury Department commissioned from the Research Triangle Institute. Their report, submitted in 1976, detailed the projected coinage needs of the United States through the year 1990.

Coining of a smaller dollar to increase its public acceptance was recomended by the report, also elimination of the cent and the half dollar denominations. The Eisenhower dollar was seldom used outside of gambling casinos because of its size, the RTI suggested that a smaller coin would be more likely to find utility in commerce. TRI also suggested a cost savings because the dollar coin's lifespan was far greater than paper money.

On October 10, 1978 Congress passed the Public Law 95-447 providing for a new one-dollar coin different from all previous coins. With respect to alloy, the new dollar would be similar, but the diameter of 38.1 mm used on earlier dollars was too large and heavy to gain wide acceptance. Therefore, the new dollars would be coined with a diameter of 26.5 mm.

Congress adopted the recomended size reduction, but, other important points raised by the TRI report were overlooked. TRI suggested that the new coin have a distinctive color and/or shape to avoid confusion with existing coin denominations (namely the quarter). The unique color suggestion was quickly dropped: Congress and the Mint wanted to keep the copper-nickel-clad composition being used by several other denominations.

A multi-sided coin was, however, serious considered. Thousands of blank pieces were made with eleven flats around their circumference and given to vending machine manufacturers for testing. Congress authorized a coin that was conventional in all respects (except for size and a eleven-sided inner border on both sides).

Vital Stats. Designer: Frank Gasparro Weight: 8.1 grams Diameter: 26.5 millimeters Edge: Reeded Content: Cladding: 75% copper 25% nickel Core: 100% copper Mint Mark Location: Left side of the obverse, just above Anthony's shoulder. No "I View Grading" Anthony Dollar Mintage Year/ Mint Mark Circulation Strikes 1979-P 360,222,000 1979-D 288,015,744 1979-S 109,576,000 1980-P 27,610,000 1980-D 41,628,708 1980-S 20,422,000 1981-P 3,000,000 1981-D 3,250,000 1981-S 3,492,000 1999-P 35,892,000 1999-D 11,776,000

Susan B. Anthony Dollar (1979 - 1999) Susan B. Anthony, a long time advocate for womens right to vote, replaced Eisenhower on the one dollar coin in 1979. A eagle landing on the moon (similar to the Eisenhower dollar) was placed on the reverse side. The round coin was much smaller than the Eisenhower dollar and appeared to be multi-faceted because of its 11 sided rim. Easily confused with the quarter dollar coin the coin was very unpopular. However, for uncertain reasons, the coin enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the late 1990's before being replaced by the Sacagawea Dollar.