Susan B. Anthony dollar
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The Susan B. Anthony dollar is a United States coin minted between 1979 and 1981, and again in 1999. It depicts women's suffrage campaigner Susan B. Anthony. The reverse depicts an eagle flying above the moon, a design adapted from the Apollo 11 mission insignia that was also present on the previously issued Eisenhower dollar.
Though it is round, it may appear 11-sided, due to an 11-sided rim bordering the edge of both sides. The original design called for the coin itself to be an 11-sided hendecagon, but vending machine manufacturers protested this plan, claiming that available vending machine technology could only accommodate round coins.
Because of their similar size and color, it is very easy to mistake for a quarter. The originally-planned hendecagon-shaped edge, which would have distinguished it from the quarter, had been replaced with a depiction of an hendecagon and the same reeded edge as the quarter, thus compounding the confusion. It was unpopular and was disparagingly referred to as the "Carter quarter" or the "Anthony quarter." Although not used much in circulation, it was accepted by some vending machines, including those of the United States Post Office and mass transit in large cities. The coin was re-issued in 1999 when the US Mint's supply of dollar coins was exhausted, before it was possible to start production of the gold-colored Sacagawea dollar released in 2000. 888,842,452 Anthony dollars were produced for circulation (Additional dollars were produced as numismatic items).
The Anthony dollar is notable by numismatists because (as of 2005) it was the last coin produced for regular issue by the San Francisco Mint.
Since the Sacagawea Dollar's 2000 introduction, the Susan B. Anthony Dollar circulated along with it. The Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 would change this, as it proposes taking all remaining Susan B. Anthony Dollars out of circulation. This bill has been signed into law. In all probability, Susan B. Anthony Dollars will be taken out of circulation beginning in 2007. However, the Secretary of Treasury will take a deeper look into the matter and report back to Congress sometime in 2006. A final decision will then be made.
Depictions in the popular media
- The TV series based on the Robocop movie, which was set in the near future, featured a $1 coin called the "Ronnie." It was nearly identical to the Susan B. Anthony dollar, except that its obverse depicted Ronald Reagan.
- In a retrospective episode of The Simpsons, Comic Book Guy holds up a copy of Susan B. Anthony Man comics. The heroic character depicted on the cover is carrying a shield which looks like a Susan B. Anthony dollar.
- On another episode of The Simpsons, Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington, Lisa proposes that the family attend the memorial to Winifred Beecher Howe, a "early crusader for women's rights" who was the leader of the 1910 Floor Mop Rebellion. "Later," Lisa notes, "she appeared on the highly unpopular 75-cent piece."
- In the animated series The Powerpuff Girls, a feminist villain who robs banks demands that the money she steals is in Susan B. Anthony dollar coins.