The Susan B. Anthony dollar coin has all the hallmarks of becoming a highly sought after collectible.
It is often referred to as the Carter Quarter (the administration of President Jimmy Carter promoted it with a vengeance, calling it “the dollar of the future“) — as well as the Anthony Dollar, Susie B, SooBee, and SBA dollar coin.
Calling it the Carter quarter made reference to the deterioration of the value of the dollar, plus it emphasized the fact that it was being confused with the quarter and that it was conceived on President Carter’s watch.
— Philip Diehl (former director, U.S. Mint)
With a short run and high numbers minted, Susan B. Anthony coins still show up in pocket change these days.
For the beginning coin collector, what better way to start a fun collection than with loose change that happens to have an interesting history?
About The Susan B. Anthony Coin
The entire collection of Susan B. Anthony dollar coins consists of just 11 coins, minted for 3 short years from 1979 through 1981, then again in 1999 because of high demand created by transit and postal vending machines.
(The U.S. Treasury didn’t have the authority to mint the replacement Sacagawea dollar coin that was due out in 2000, so they were forced to make another run of Susan B. Anthony dollars to carry them through.)
The 1979 year coins were the largest production year for Susan B Anthony’s. Since, they weren’t very well accepted, the 1980 run was smaller and the 1981 run was never put into circulation. Instead, they were sold by the U.S. Mint in sets for coin collectors. Because of their lack of popularity, many sets from 1981 were broken up and ended up in circulation after all.
See the full list of SBA dollar coin production runs by the U.S. Mint.
The Susie B. failed to catch on mainly because its size and color too closely matched the quarter — a problem that the gold-colored Sacagawea dollar coin hoped to correct. Sadly, it too was a failure, even with its contrasting color.
Interesting Facts About The Susie B
- The original design was intended to be an 11-sided hendecagon. However, since vending machines of the time could only handle round coins, the final SBA coin came out with an 11-sided design stamped around the perimeter of a round coin instead.
- The Susan B. Anthony dollar is the last coin to be minted with the familiar “S” mintmark for the San Francisco mint.
- In the movie “Robocop,” a dollar coin referred to as the “Ronnie” was featured. It depicted President Ronald Reagan — but otherwise was identical to the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin.
How Much Are Susan B. Anthony Dollars Worth?
Heritage Auction Galleries currently values the Susan B. Anthony dollar coins at face value — all the more reason to be watching for them in your change.
The value of Susan B Anthony’s is sure to go up in the future… it’s only a matter of time!
Plus, since they’re still in circulation, the odds are quite high that you will come across these dollar coins in your pocket change. Now that’s a fun (and easy) way to try and complete a collection of all Susan B. Anthony coins!
NOTE: There were 11 SBA dollar coins that were released into general circulation, plus 7 SBA coins that were made just for collectors — for a grand total of 18 Susan B. Anthony coins to collect.
See our tips for collecting Susan B. Anthony coins.
More About Susan B. Anthony
Susan Brownell Anthony was a civil rights leader who spent 45 years traveling through the United States and Europe giving speeches to promote women’s rights and seeking the right to vote for all women.
She was born February 15, 1820, and her efforts in obtaining women’s right to vote were key in the decision to commemorate Susan B. Anthony on the dollar coin.
This was the very first time a real woman appeared on a circulating U.S. coin. This choice symbolized the growing recognition of women’s contributions to American society.
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