Susan B. Anthony Dollars were conceived with the purpose of creating a format for the denomination that would be readily used in commerce. Rather than using paper bills, which would wear out quickly, coins could last for decades saving the government money. It wasn’t that consumers were not amenable to the idea, but they found the new coins too easily confused with the quarter dollar.

Prior to the Anthony Dollar series, Eisenhower Dollars were struck for circulation for eight years. These coins had the same size as the classic silver dollar, although they were stuck in a composition of copper nickel clad. This series was often criticized for being too large and bulky for use in commerce. Outside of use in some casinos, not many were used in commercial transactions.

In 1979, the US Mint released the new Susan B. Anthony Dollars. These attempted to overcome the problems of the prior series. They were sized at 26.5 millimeters, smaller than the traditional 38.1 millimeters for the denomination. The inner rim was given thirteen sides, which would allow the coins to be differentiated by touch. A new design was used for the coins, with the portrait of the famous figure from the womens suffrage movement on the obverse. The reverse carried the same design as the prior series, based on the Apollo 11 mission insignia.

About 750 million of the new coins would be struck for the first year of issue at the mint facilities located at Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. The large scale production was performed in anticipation of widespread public adoption. Despite some favorable publicity around the release, public sentiment quickly turned. People found the coins too difficult to differentiate from the quarter dollar, and even the half dollar. Confusion ensued and many merchants would not accept the coins.

Coining of the new denomination slowed in the following year, and by 1981 coins were only struck for collectors. The idea of a dollar coin fell out of favor until almost two decades later, when a new golden colored dollar coin was under development. It was at the same time that the supply of Susan B. Anthony Dollars finally ran dry. Although the coins were not widely used by the public, certain vending machines began to utilize the coins more readily. The Anthony Dollars were struck for one final year before being resigned to the history books.

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