Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 16, 2017

Obverse of a 1999 Susan B. Anthony dollar

The Susan B. Anthony dollar is a U.S. dollar coin that was minted from 1979 to 1981, when the series was suspended due to poor public reception, and briefly minted again in 1999. It was proposed as a replacement for the cumbersome Eisenhower dollar. A round planchet with an eleven-sided inner border, acceptable to the vending machine industry (a powerful lobby affecting coin legislation), was chosen for the smaller dollar. Social reformer Susan B. Anthony was selected for the obverse side; on the reverse, the design of the Eisenhower dollar was retained. Both sides of the coin were designed by Frank Gasparro, the Chief Engraver of the United States Mint. The Mint struck 500 million coins, but these entered circulation slowly, in part because of confusion caused by their similarity in size and appearance to the quarter. A final run of these dollar coins was struck in 1999 to compensate for the slow production of the Sacagawea dollar, authorized in 1997. Susan B. Anthony dollars are still plentiful, including many in uncirculated condition, so they hold little extra value for collectors. (Full article...)

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