The Susan B. Anthony Dollar coin was first introduced in 1979, and marked the first time a woman (other than a mythical figure) appeared on a circulating United States coin.
Weighing 8.1 grams and shaped into a 26.50 millimeter diameter, the coin is composed of an external copper-nickel alloy made of 75% copper and 25% nickel, bonded to a core composed of pure copper.
Designed by Frank Gasparro, the obverse of the coin depicts the image of Susan B. Anthony, facing her left. Thirteen stars appear on the coin's obverse, with seven on the left and six on the right. The six stars appearing on the right are split into two sets of three, separated by the words "IN GOD WE TRUST". The word "LIBERTY" appears at the top of the coin, and the mint year appears at the bottom. The coin's reverse depicts the Eagle on the moon design, identical to the reverse of the Eisenhower Dollar. The design comes from the patch of the Apollo 11 mission, and was chosen to commemorate the moon landing.
Originally, the coin never gained widespread popularity due to its similarity to the quarter, as well as its inconvenience compared to the dollar bill. Thus the coin was minted for only four years. Struck from 1979 through 1981, as well as 1999 (due to increased demand for the dollar coin from the United States Postal Service for use in vending machines), a total of 868,511,516 were produced. Today, it is the mint's most popular dollar coin.
The coin's successor, the Sacagawea Dollar, is exactly the same size and weight as the Susan B. Anthony dollar.
United States Coinage