Years
Designer
Frank Gasparro
Composition
Copper-nickel clad
Diameter
26.5 mm
Mass
8.1 g
Thickness
2 mm
Edge
Reeded
Mints
Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco
Metal
Clad
Design
Susan B. Anthony, first real woman on a circulating U.S. coin. Reverse the same Apollo eagle as the Ike, scaled down. The eleven-sided inner border was supposed to distinguish it from the quarter. It did not.
History
A well-intended failure: same color and near-same size as a quarter, so cashiers and the public rejected it. Struck 1979–81 and revived in 1999 to fill vending demand before the Sacagawea dollar. 1979-P Wide Rim (Near Date) is the popular variety. The type is historically important as a suffrage portrait even if it never found a pocket.
Key dates
1979-P · Wide Rim
scarce
1981-S · Type 2 proof
scarce
12 issues