Susan B. Anthony dollar
The Susan B. Anthony dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1979 to 1981, when production was suspended due to poor public acceptance, and then again in 1999. Intended as a replacement for the larger Eisenhower dollar, the new smaller one-dollar coin went through testing of several shapes and compositions, but all were opposed by the vending machine industry, a powerful lobby affecting coin legislation. Finally, a round planchet with an eleven-sided inner border was chosen for the smaller dollar.
The original design for the smaller dollar coin depicted an allegorical representation of Liberty on the obverse, but organizations and individuals in Congress called for the coin to depict a real woman. Several proposals were submitted, and social reformer Susan B. Anthony was selected as the design subject. The reverse design of the Eisenhower dollar was retained, an engraving of the Apollo 11 mission insignia showing an eagle landing on the Moon. Both sides of the coin, as well as the rejected Liberty design, were created by Frank Gasparro, the Chief Engraver of the United States Mint.
One and a half billion coins were struck in anticipation of considerable public demand, but the Anthony dollar was poorly received, in part because of confusion caused by its similarity in size and metallic composition to the quarter. Despite its poor reception and most of the coins reposing in Treasury and bank vaults, the Anthony dollar eventually began seeing use in vending machines and mass transit systems, depleting the surplus by the late 1990s. In 1997, Congress passed a law authorizing the mintage of a new gold-colored one-dollar coin depicting Sacagawea, but production could not begin quickly enough to meet demand. As a stopgap measure, until the new Sacagawea dollar coin could be issued, the Anthony dollar was struck again in 1999 after an eighteen-year hiatus; the series was retired the following year.
Special coins for sale to collectors were struck in proof finish through the run of the Susan B. Anthony dollar, and some minting variations are valuable to collectors. However, most circulation strikes remained in government stockpiles for several years after minting, so many of the coins are available in uncirculated grades, and the premium over face value is minimal.
Background
In the early 1960s, as the price of silver rose, Treasury Department vaults were depleted of silver dollars by the public. No silver dollars had been minted in the United States since 1935, and a shortage developed in the Western United States, especially in areas in which gambling was common. As a result, Congress voted to authorize the production of 45million new silver Peace dollars on August3, 1964. However, the move drew strong condemnation from critics and the public who believed that the issuance of the coins was a waste of resources and influenced by special interests, and that they would be quickly removed from circulation. A total of 316,076 1964-D Peace dollars were struck before production was ordered suspended. The coins were melted soon afterwards, and the Coinage Act of 1965, enacted on July 23, 1965, forbade all production of dollar coins for a period of five years.On May 12, 1969, the Joint Commission on the Coinage, a panel of 24 individuals organized by the 1965 Coinage Act, recommended resumption of dollar coin production following a study conducted by a Congressional task force. On October1 and3, 1969, a hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives discussed the proposed legislation to authorize the coin, in a copper-nickel clad composition, with the same diameter of the former silver dollars. A provision was added requiring the coin to depict former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had died earlier that year, on the obverse and a design "emblematic of the symbolic eagle of Apollo 11 landing on the moon" on the reverse. President Richard Nixon signed the bill into law on December31, 1970. Both the obverse and reverse designs were created by Frank Gasparro, the Chief Engraver of the United States Mint.
As with previous dollar coins, the new Eisenhower dollar proved unpopular with the public, and very few of the coins were found in circulation. In 1976, the Research Triangle Institute conducted a survey of United States coinage. Among other things, they recommended the half dollar coin, which by then saw declining use, be eliminated from production, and the size of the dollar be reduced. Their report read in part:
A conveniently-sized dollar coin would significantly broaden the capabilities of consumers for cash transactions, especially with machines. Members of the automatic merchandising industry have expressed a strong interest in a smaller dollar, indicating their willingness to adapt their machinery to its use.Numismatic historian David L. Ganz suggested that Eisenhower, a Republican, was chosen as a means of balancing the half dollar, depicting Democrat John F. Kennedy. In a 1977 paper, he agreed with the findings of the institute, suggesting that both coins should be eliminated; the half dollar production ceased entirely, and the dollar replaced by one of smaller diameter and with a different design. Treasury officials desired the small dollar coin as a cost-saving measure; Mint Director Stella Hackel estimated that replacing half of the issued one dollar bills with smaller one dollar coins would save $19million in annual production costs.
Design history
Liberty design
The Mint began preparation for the reduced-diameter dollar coin in 1976. Although no legislation had yet been introduced, Treasury officials anticipated a positive reception from Congress, and the coin had near unanimous support from the Mint and the vending machine industry, an influential lobby in the area of coin design and creation. In 1977, Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal publicly endorsed a smaller dollar coin and suggested that an allegorical representation of Liberty would be a suitable subject for the coin.Chief Engraver Gasparro was tasked with creating a design for the proposed coin. His obverse design depicted a bust of Liberty, while his reverse depicted a soaring eagle. The bust was pictured along with a pole, atop which sat a Phrygian cap, a symbol used to represent freedom. Gasparro's Liberty design was based on a similar obverse that he created for a 1969 American Numismatic Association convention medal. The reverse, depicting an eagle flying above a mountain against the rising Sun, was originally created by Gasparro in 1967 for a proposed commemorative half dollar. Describing the reverse design, Gasparro stated that it was meant to symbolize "a new day being born".
The design was reviewed by the Commission of Fine Arts, and in an April 29, 1976, letter, Commission member J. Carter Brown praised the design:
I believe this would be a superb design for United States Coinage, rooted as it is in a great tradition, being based on the 'Liberty Cap cent' of 1794, following Augustin Dupré's Libertas Americana medal commemorating Saratoga and Yorktown.
A bill to reduce the diameter of the dollar from to and the weight from 22.68 grams to 8.5 grams was introduced to the House of Representatives on May 1, 1978. The bill was introduced to the Senate on May 3, and the proposed weight was reduced from 8.5 grams to 8.1 grams. The Mint conducted experiments involving eight-, ten-, eleven- and thirteen-sided coins, but it was decided that the dollar would be round, as costly modifications would be required to update vending machinery to accept other shapes. Instead, the bill prescribed an eleven-sided inner border, which was intended to aid identification by sight and by feel for the visually handicapped.
Selection of Susan B. Anthony
Treasury officials officially recommended Gasparro's design, which they referred to as a "modernized version of the classic Liberty design". On May 3, 1978, Wisconsin's William Proxmire introduced legislation in the Senate which was identical to the Treasury proposal, except for mandating a design which was altered to social reformer Susan B. Anthony in place of the allegorical Liberty. On May 15, Representatives Mary Rose Oakar and Patricia Schroeder introduced similar legislation to the House of Representatives. Anthony was also recommended by members of the National Organization for Women, the Congresswomen's Caucus, the National Women's Political Caucus and the League of Women Voters. In support of the proposed legislation, the League addressed a letter to Walter E. Fauntroy, chairman of the Subcommittee on Historic Preservation and Coinage, reading in part:The League believes that the time has come, and is indeed long past, for the likeness of a prominent American woman to be placed on a denomination of U.S. currency. We believe strongly that the likeness should be that of an actual woman and not that of an imaginary or symbolic figure. Susan B. Anthony contributed immeasurably to the advancement of human dignity in this nation. It is entirely fitting and appropriate that her memory be honored through this measure.In addition, officials tallied suggestions sent to the Mint by the general public as to the subject of the dollar coin, and Susan B. Anthony had received the most support.
Gasparro began work on his Susan B. Anthony design in June 1978, before the legislation was authorized by Congress. He enlisted the help of a friend in conducting research on Anthony, which he felt was necessary before creating the design. He referenced approximately six different images while creating the portrait of Anthony, but it was based largely on just two. Gasparro created several different designs before receiving final approval. One of his portraits, depicting Anthony at age 28, was shown to Anthony's great-niece, Susan B. Anthony III, who rejected it on the grounds that it unnecessarily "prettified" her great-aunt, and she criticized another design depicting Anthony at age 84, which she believed made her appear too old. Gasparro made several alterations with the intent to depict her at age 50, at the peak of her influence as a social reformer, but no photographs of Anthony during that period are known to exist. He eventually received approval after modification, later stating his belief that he had accurately portrayed Anthony.
Initially, Gasparro expected that Congress would retain his soaring eagle reverse design to accompany the Susan B. Anthony obverse. However, a late amendment introduced by Utah Senator Jake Garn altered the legislation to maintain the Apollo 11 design in use on the Eisenhower dollar reverse.
The bill was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on October 10, 1978, and production of Eisenhower dollars ceased during that year. After he signed the bill into law, Carter issued a statement, saying in part that he was confident that "this act—and the new dollar—will substantially improve our coinage system as well as cutting Government coin production costs". He went on to declare his approval of the decision to depict Anthony on the coins:
I am particularly pleased that the new dollar coin will—for the first time in history—bear the image of a great American woman. The life of Susan B. Anthony exemplifies the ideals for which our country stands. The 'Anthony dollar' will symbolize for all American women the achievement of their unalienable right to vote. It will be a constant reminder of the continuing struggle for the equality of all Americans.