A new dollar coin was released to the public on July 2, 1979. It featured Susan
B. Anthony, a pioneer of women’s voting rights who lived from 1820 to 1906.
The Susan B. Anthony Dollar coin was smaller in diameter than its predecessors,
midway between the quarter and half dollar, and was intended to facilitate use
in coin-operated vending machines.
The obverse carried a portrait of the famous suffragette. The reverse depicts an
American eagle landing on the moon, very similar to the reverse of the
Eisenhower Dollar.
Federal officials thought the Susan B. Anthony Dollar coin would circulate
better because of its smaller size, but the opposite is what happened. The
public rejected the Anthony Dollar primarily because it was easily confused with
a quarter.
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Susan B. Anthony
Dollar Specifications |
Diameter: |
Weight: |
Minted: |
Composition: |
Designer |
Edge: |
26.5 mm |
8.10 g |
1979-1981,
1999 |
.750
Cu .250 Ni
1.000 Cu (core) |
Frank Gasparro |
Reeded |
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Coin Photos courtesy of
United States Mint |
Between 1979 and 1980, the Mint produced nearly 850 million Susan B. Anthony
dollar coins. Since there was little demand, hundreds of millions of the Anthony
dollars were tucked away in government vaults. In 1981, only about 10 million were
coined, for inclusion in collector sets only. After that, the Susan Anthony
Dollar took a long vacation.
Vending machines became more sophisticated later on in the 1980s and into the
1990s, capable of accepting paper bills greater than one dollar. At first,
change was given in quarters, but eventually, more and more machines returned
change in the form of Susan B. Anthony Dollar coins. Also, metropolitan
mass transit systems along the eastern seaboard converted their systems to give
and take the Anthony Dollar.
This newfound demand slowly drained the Treasury's
supply of Anthony Dollars. By 1998,
federal authorities feared their dollar coin stockpiles would be exhausted
before the new Sacagawea Dollar was rolled out in 2000. For this reason,
the Susan Anthony Dollar made an encore performance in 1999. Nearly 50
billion of the "Susie B's" were struck for circulation in 1999.
Susan B. Anthony is the first woman, other than the symbolical Miss Liberty,
to ever appear on United States money. She began campaigning to advance
women's rights in the 1850s. At that time, women could not own property or
enter professional fields on par with men. Worst of all, women were denied
the right to vote. Anthony's style soon earned her a widespread
reputation as an inspirational advocate of social justice. For the next
half century, Anthony tirelessly traveled the nation giving speeches and winning allies
in her quest to convince lawmakers that women deserved full citizenship
privileges.
Anthony was arrested for casting a vote in the presidential election held on November
5, 1872. At the trial, she gave
her famous "On Women's Right to Vote" speech, which asserted that her vote
in the 1872 election was not a crime but the legal right of a
U.S. citizen. Nevertheless, she was found guilty and fined $100.
For sixteen years, Anthony petitioned to appear before Congress on behalf of her
cause. Finally, on March 8, 1884, she addressed Washington lawmakers,
urging passage of an amendment to Constitution granting women the right to vote.
It failed.
Anthony
retired from public life in 1900. She went to her death six years later,
forever denied legal access to the voting booth. Despite her death, the suffrage movement
lived on. The culmination of Anthony's lifework was fulfilled on August
26, 1920, with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.
Better known as the "Anthony Amendment", the new law read in part: "The
right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States or by any State on account of sex." Today,
women's voting rights are often taken for granted, but it was through the hard
work and dedication of Susan B. Anthony and others like her that this precious
right was won.
There are
no Susan B. Anthony Dollar key dates, but there are a few varieties that are
scarce and worth collecting. Try finding a 1979-P “Near
Date, Wide Rim” variety by searching through rolls. Good luck. In the 1979-S and 1981-S
Proof sets, the majority of the
dollar coins bear a filled-in “S” mint mark,
resembling a blob rather than a
letter. Coins with this characteristic are called Type I dollars. The name is
carried over to the Proof set itself, hence it is called a Type I Proof set. Type
II dollars have a clear “S” mint mark and are not nearly as prevalent.
Interestingly,
1981-S Type II dollars have doubled in value in recent years.
Here’s
something else to think about: More and more, picky Anthony Dollar collectors
are looking for coins with
Full Talons, much in the same way as
Franklin Half Dollar collectors seek
examples with Full Bell Lines. Full Talons are the result of a superior strike.
Most of the time, because of a weak strike or clogged dies, the eagle’s talons
lack sharp definition. Collectors look for talons that are fully separated and
rounded, with no weakness. The best Full Talon examples also show the folds of
skin on the toes. The “FT” designation is not yet applied by any of the major
grading services, but it is increasingly significant. Should this characteristic
become critical in determining trading value of Susan B. Anthony Dollar coins,
we could someday see it recognized by the grading services.
Just because Anthony Dollars are modern day coins, don't make the mistake of
buying overgraded stock. If the Anthony Dollar were to ever generate
excitement across a wide swath of the numismatic community, thus triggering much
higher prices for the relatively rare varieties in the highest grades, you'll be
very pleased you had the foresight to be selective when prices were lower.
As always, deal with reputable sellers. A very important layer of security
for buyers of high grade Anthony Dollars is to concentrate on coins that have
been certified as such by one of the leading services in the industry: PCGS, NGC, ICG, or ANACS
.
The cartoon above has President Grover Cleveland, carrying book "What I know
about women's clubs," being chased with a "Women's Suffrage" umbrella by
Susan B. Anthony, as Uncle Sam chuckles in background. The cartoon was
created by Charles Bartholomew sometime between 1892 and 1896. By
then, Anthony and her crusade for social justice was recognized throughout
the world.