Susan B. Anthony Dollar
 Library of Congress |
Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) is the first woman to appear on U.S. coinage. Anthony worked for nearly 70 years to bring suffrage (the right to vote) to women in the United States. Unfortunately, Anthony did not live long enough see the passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution granting women suffrage in 1920. To honor her efforts and achievements, the United States Mint created a dollar-value coin with Anthony's image on it in 1979. The U.S. Mint has been making coins for the United States since it was founded in 1792. Originally, the mint was within the Department of State, but it became a part of the Treasury Department in 1873. The U.S. Mint continued to make dollar coins with Anthony's image from 1979-1981.
Other coins in circulation have also featured women. Sacagawea, the woman who guided Lewis & Clark across the continent, took Anthony's place on the dollar coin in 1999. Helen Keller appeared on the reverse side of the Alabama quarter in 2003.
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