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The Susan B. Anthony dollar was a United States dollar coin minted from 1979 to 1981, when the series was halted due to poor public reception, and again in 1999. Proposed as a smaller replacement for the cumbersome Eisenhower dollar, a number of shapes and compositions were tested, but all were opposed by the vending machine industry, a powerful lobby affecting coin legislation. Finally, a round planchet with an eleven-sided inner border was chosen for the smaller dollar. The original design depicted an allegorical representation of Liberty, but organizations and individuals in Congress called for the coin to depict a woman. Several proposals were submitted, and social reformer Susan B. Anthony was selected as the design subject. The reverse design of the Eisenhower dollar was kept. Both sides of the coin were designed by Frank Gasparro, the Chief Engraver of the United States Mint. The Mint struck 500 million coins in anticipation of considerable public demand, but the Susan B. Anthony dollar was poorly received, in part because of confusion caused by its similarity in size and metallic composition to the quarter. Despite its poor reception, the coins began seeing use in vending machines and mass transit systems, gradually depleting the surplus. In 1997, Congress passed a law authorizing mintage of the gold-colored Sacagawea dollar, but production did not begin quickly enough to meet demand. To fill the gap, a final run of Susan B. Anthony dollars was struck in 1999; the series was retired the following year. Special coins for sale to collectors were struck in proof finish through the run of the Susan B. Anthony dollar, and some minting varieties are valuable to collectors. However, most circulation strikes remained in government stockpiles for years after minting, so many are available in uncirculated grades, and the premium over face value is minimal. == Background == In the early 1960s, as the price of silver rose, Treasury Department vaults were depleted of silver dollars by the public. No silver dollars had been minted in the United States since 1935, and a shortage developed in the Western United States, especially in areas in which gambling was common. As a result, Congress voted to authorize production of 45 million new silver Peace dollars on August 3, 1964. However, the move drew strong condemnation from critics who believed that the issuance of the coins was influenced by special interests, and that they would be quickly removed from circulation. The dollars were subsequently melted, and the Coinage Act of 1965, enacted on July 23, 1965, outlawed all production of dollar coins for a period of five years. On May 12, 1969, the Joint Commission on the Coinage, a panel of 24 individuals organized by the 1965 Coinage Act, recommended resumption of dollar coin production following a study conducted by a Congressional task force. On October 1 and 3, 1969, a hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives discussing the proposed legislation to authorize the coin, in a copper-nickel clad composition, with the diameter of the former silver dollars. A provision was added requiring the coin to depict recently deceased President Dwight D. Eisenhower on the obverse and a design "emblematic of the symbolic eagle of Apollo 11 landing on the moon" on the reverse. President Richard Nixon signed the bill into law on December 31, 1970. Both the obverse and reverse designs were created by Frank Gasparro, the Chief Engraver of the United States Mint. The coin, known as the Eisenhower dollar, proved unpopular with the public, and very few circulated in transactions. In 1976, the Research Triangle Institute conducted a survey of United States coinage. Among other things, they recommended the half dollar, which also saw little use, be entirely eliminated from production, and the size of the dollar be reduced. Their report read in part: A conveniently-sized dollar coin would significantly broaden the capabilities of consumers for cash transactions, especially with machines. Members of the automatic merchandising industry have expressed a strong interest in a smaller dollar, indicating their willingness to adapt their machinery to its use.Numismatic historian David L. Ganz suggested that Eisenhower, a Republican, was chosen as a means of balancing the half dollar, depicting Democrat John F. Kennedy. In a 1977 paper, he agreed with the findings of the Institute, suggesting that both coins should be eliminated; the half dollar production ceased entirely, and the dollar replaced by one of smaller diameter and with a different design. Treasury officials desired the small dollar coin as a cost-saving measure; Mint Director Stella Hackel estimated that replacing half of the issued dollar bills with small dollars would save $19 million ($ today) in annual production costs. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Susan B. Anthony dollar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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