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The US Dollar Coin: Every Type, from 1794 to Today
United States$11794 to today (Sacagawea design since 2000)
Denomination of United States currency
Specs (Sacagawea / Native American dollar, current)
- Issuer
- United States Mint
- Denomination
- 1 dollar
- Years minted
- 1794 to today (Sacagawea design since 2000)
- Metal
- Manganese brass outer layers on a copper core: 88.5% copper, 6% zinc, 3.5% manganese, 2% nickel overall
- Weight
- 8.1 g
- Diameter
- 26.49 mm
- Thickness
- 2.00 mm
- Edge
- Plain (date and motto lettered on the edge from 2009)
- Designers
- Glenna Goodacre (obverse); Thomas D. Rogers (2000–2008 eagle reverse)
- Mints
- Philadelphia (P), Denver (D), San Francisco (S, proofs)
- Earlier small dollar
- Susan B. Anthony (1979–1999): copper-nickel clad, 8.1 g, 26.5 mm, reeded edge
- Earlier large dollar
- Eisenhower (1971–1978): copper-nickel clad, 22.68 g, 38.1 mm
In the hand
The story of the Dollar coin
The US dollar coin has been around since 1794, and Americans have mostly ignored it for just as long. The country has made dollars in silver, gold and base metal, in sizes from a nickel to a cookie.
The first dollars were silver. The Flowing Hair dollar of 1794 was among the Mint's first silver coins. The Draped Bust, Seated Liberty, Morgan and Peace dollars followed, with the Peace dollar ending in 1935. Silver dollars were big and heavy, and most sat in bank vaults. Small gold dollars also existed from 1849 to 1889.
The modern dollar coins are easier to find:
- Eisenhower dollar (1971–1978). A large copper-nickel coin, 38.1 mm across, honouring President Eisenhower, with the Apollo 11 moon landing on the back. Casinos used them more than shoppers did.
- Susan B. Anthony dollar (1979–1981, and again in 1999). The first circulating US coin to show a real woman. It was small, silver-coloured and reeded, and people kept mistaking it for a quarter. The 11-sided border inside the rim was meant to help, but it didn't.
- Sacagawea dollar (2000 onward). A gold-coloured coin with a smooth edge, so it couldn't be confused with a quarter. Glenna Goodacre's design shows Sacagawea, the Shoshone guide of the Lewis and Clark expedition, carrying her baby son. Since 2009 the back has changed every year, honouring Native American contributions.
- Presidential dollars (2007–2016, plus 2020). Four presidents a year, with the date and motto on the edge.
- American Innovation dollars (2018 onward), one design for each state and territory.
None of these has caught on. The dollar bill is still printed, and most Americans prefer it. By 2011 the Federal Reserve was holding more than a billion unused dollar coins, and the Treasury stopped striking Presidential dollars for circulation that year. Since then most new dollar coins go to collectors. That includes the 2026 one-year dollar for the 250th anniversary, which shows President Donald Trump and is sold in rolls and bags.
How do you tell them apart? Size and colour. A big silver-coloured coin is an Eisenhower. A small silver-coloured coin with a reeded edge is a Susan B. Anthony. A small gold-coloured coin is a Sacagawea, a Presidential or an Innovation dollar, and the design tells you which.
From the encyclopedia
The dollar coin is a United States coin with a face value of one dollar. Dollar coins have been minted in the U.S. in silver, gold, and base metal versions. Dollar coins have almost never been popular in circulation since their inception. Despite efforts by the U.S. government to promote their use to save the cost of printing one-dollar bills, modern coins are seldom seen in circulation, since most Americans prefer to use paper bills.
From Dollar coin (United States) on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fetched November 3, 2026.
Questions people ask
Are dollar coins still made?
Yes. The Mint strikes Native American and American Innovation dollars every year, but mostly for collectors. Few go into circulation.
Is a Sacagawea dollar made of gold?
No. It's gold-coloured manganese brass over a copper core. It's worth one dollar unless it's a rare variety.
How can I tell a Susan B. Anthony dollar from a quarter?
It's a little larger and has an 11-sided border inside the rim. A quarter has a plain round border and shows Washington.