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First strike of 1979 dollars was done in 1978!

ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,116 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited September 1, 2021 2:28AM in U.S. Coin Forum

Just ran across this on the bay which I thought was very interesting.

The first strike of 1979 Susan Brownell Anthony dollars was done on December 13, 1978!

Photo credit: brianjmax2k0l

Comments

  • MWallaceMWallace Posts: 4,095 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Press Release from Mint Director Stella Hackel on SmallDollars.com

    smalldollars.com/dollar/12-13-78.html

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,116 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 1, 2021 2:40AM

    @MWallace said:
    Press Release from Mint Director Stella Hackel on SmallDollars.com

    smalldollars.com/dollar/12-13-78.html

    Great Press Release!

    It says that legislation was signed on October 10, 1978. Is just over 2 months to striking a record?

    Legislation for the new coin was passed by Congress on September 26, 1978 and signed into law by President Carter on October 10, 1978.

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,116 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Calling @DrDarryl who might be interested in this.

  • SweetpieSweetpie Posts: 473 ✭✭✭

    @Zoins said:

    @MWallace said:
    Press Release from Mint Director Stella Hackel on SmallDollars.com

    smalldollars.com/dollar/12-13-78.html

    Great Press Release!

    It says that legislation was signed on October 10, 1978. Is just over 2 months to striking a record?

    Legislation for the new coin was passed by Congress on September 26, 1978 and signed into law by President Carter on October 10, 1978.

    Either this or the Kennedy half dollar.

  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭

    There were great hopes for this coin.... all of which failed to materialize. Cheers, RickO

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,116 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Sweetpie said:

    @Zoins said:

    @MWallace said:
    Press Release from Mint Director Stella Hackel on SmallDollars.com

    smalldollars.com/dollar/12-13-78.html

    Great Press Release!

    It says that legislation was signed on October 10, 1978. Is just over 2 months to striking a record?

    Legislation for the new coin was passed by Congress on September 26, 1978 and signed into law by President Carter on October 10, 1978.

    Either this or the Kennedy half dollar.

    You're right! The Kennedy half dollar had an even shorter time from authorization to first strike! Just less than a month and a half!

    https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2013/11/5-facts-about-the-kennedy-half-dollar.html

    Robyn Einhorn wrote:

    About one month after Kennedy's death, Congress approved the Kennedy half dollar to memorialize the president; the bill authorizing the coin passed on December 30, 1963. The coin was first minted in 1964, with a ceremonial first strike held February 11, 1964, at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints concurrently.

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,116 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 1, 2021 4:18AM

    @ricko said:
    There were great hopes for this coin.... all of which failed to materialize. Cheers, RickO

    There were many great hopes for the dollar coin of many types which all failed to materialize, starting with the Draped Bust Dollar which was discontinued and left us without a dollar coin for 30 years.

    For some reason, the dollar coin is just not a very successful circulating denomination in the US.

  • JBKJBK Posts: 15,568 ✭✭✭✭✭

    As I recall there had been some work done on a potential small dollar coin before the SBA coin was proposed. The original proposal was for a depiction of Liberty with a Freedom Cap.

    So, the proposals for the SBA might have started the process for that coin even before the actual legislation was passed.

    Also, on the commemorative item pictured above, I don't see any statement the SBA included was actually struck on the first day.

  • ConnecticoinConnecticoin Posts: 12,840 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @ricko said:
    There were great hopes for this coin.... all of which failed to materialize. Cheers, RickO

    SBAs, along with Sacagawea Dollar and Presidential Dollars (and the $2 bill) were all doomed to fail unless the $1 bill was eliminated.

  • PhillyJoePhillyJoe Posts: 2,700 ✭✭✭✭

    While cash registers may have had a space for half dollars years ago, there is no place to put a dollar coin. In another 50 years, the Fed will release the "SBA Hoard" to collectors.

    The Philadelphia Mint: making coins since 1792. We make money by making money. Now in our 225th year thanks to no competition. image
  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,116 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 1, 2021 7:05AM

    @Connecticoin said:

    @ricko said:
    There were great hopes for this coin.... all of which failed to materialize. Cheers, RickO

    SBAs, along with Sacagawea Dollar and Presidential Dollars (and the $2 bill) were all doomed to fail unless the $1 bill was eliminated.

    Other failures included the Draped Bust Dollar mentioned above, along with the Peace Dollar and Eisenhower Dollar. I wonder if their failure can be attributed to the bill as well?

  • johnny9434johnny9434 Posts: 28,326 ✭✭✭✭✭

    i think they would have done better if they had some soeta color to them, jmo

  • ConnecticoinConnecticoin Posts: 12,840 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Zoins said:

    @Connecticoin said:

    @ricko said:
    There were great hopes for this coin.... all of which failed to materialize. Cheers, RickO

    SBAs, along with Sacagawea Dollar and Presidential Dollars (and the $2 bill) were all doomed to fail unless the $1 bill was eliminated.

    Other failures included the Draped Bust Dollar mentioned above, along with the Peace Dollar and Eisenhower Dollar. I wonder if their failure can be attributed to the bill as well?

    Possibly, although my understanding is the Ike Dollar was produced primarily for the Nevada gaming industry as silver dollars disappeared from circulation.

    Bad politics seems to keep the dollar coin from succeeding, we only need to look to Canada and Europe to see that eliminating (or not producing) the $1 bill or 1 Euro bill works.

  • ConnecticoinConnecticoin Posts: 12,840 ✭✭✭✭✭

    The UK 1 pound coin circulates effectively as well, as there is no 1 pound note anymore.

  • cmerlo1cmerlo1 Posts: 7,910 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Thanks for posting this, @Zoins ! I've been looking for a signed Frank Gasparro piece, and I am now the proud owner of the one you posted.

    @Zoins said:
    Just ran across this on the bay which I thought was very interesting.

    The first strike of 1979 Susan Brownell Anthony dollars was done on December 13, 1978!

    Photo credit: brianjmax2k0l

    You Suck! Awarded 6/2008- 1901-O Micro O Morgan, 8/2008- 1878 VAM-123 Morgan, 9/2022 1888-O VAM-1B3 H8 Morgan | Senior Regional Representative- ANACS Coin Grading. Posted opinions on coins are my own, and are not an official ANACS opinion.
  • oih82w8oih82w8 Posts: 12,207 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 1, 2021 1:41PM

    @PhillyJoe said:
    While cash registers may have had a space for half dollars years ago, there is no place to put a dollar coin. In another 50 years, the Fed will release the "SBA Hoard" to collectors.

    We must have some old till drawers then. We normally use the the "sixth" space for paper clips and "odd" denominations (.50 and dollar coins).

    oih82w8 = Oh I Hate To Wait _defectus patientia_aka...Dr. Defecto - Curator of RMO's

    BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...
  • gumby1234gumby1234 Posts: 5,584 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Ever since the first dollar coins were made in the US nobody has liked to use them. They were never popular for commerce. Same thing with the $2 notes. The SBA was doomed more because it got easily confused with quarters thou. I remember as a kid getting what was supposed to be 80 cents in change and instead it was $3.05 cents.

    Successful BST with ad4400, Kccoin, lablover, pointfivezero, koynekwest, jwitten, coin22lover, HalfDimeDude, erwindoc, jyzskowsi, COINS MAKE CENTS, AlanSki, BryceM

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,116 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 1, 2021 4:17PM

    @cmerlo1 said:
    Thanks for posting this, @Zoins ! I've been looking for a signed Frank Gasparro piece, and I am now the proud owner of the one you posted.

    @Zoins said:
    Just ran across this on the bay which I thought was very interesting.

    The first strike of 1979 Susan Brownell Anthony dollars was done on December 13, 1978!

    Photo credit: brianjmax2k0l

    Awesome! I really love this piece but it's not part of my core collecting focus now and I need some discipline. I'm glad you got it! It's really special!

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,116 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 1, 2021 7:59PM

    @Connecticoin said:

    @Zoins said:

    @Connecticoin said:

    @ricko said:
    There were great hopes for this coin.... all of which failed to materialize. Cheers, RickO

    SBAs, along with Sacagawea Dollar and Presidential Dollars (and the $2 bill) were all doomed to fail unless the $1 bill was eliminated.

    Other failures included the Draped Bust Dollar mentioned above, along with the Peace Dollar and Eisenhower Dollar. I wonder if their failure can be attributed to the bill as well?

    Possibly, although my understanding is the Ike Dollar was produced primarily for the Nevada gaming industry as silver dollars disappeared from circulation.

    That's true, but I consider it a bit of a failure to be replaced by a dollar with a different size.

    Bad politics seems to keep the dollar coin from succeeding, we only need to look to Canada and Europe to see that eliminating (or not producing) the $1 bill or 1 Euro bill works.

    The UK has circulating £1 and £2 coins that both circulate. The £2 is worth US $2.75!

  • DrDarrylDrDarryl Posts: 606 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Zoins said:
    Calling @DrDarryl who might be interested in this.

    Thanks for the heads-up !

  • OnastoneOnastone Posts: 3,947 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Notice the promotion of the size? So proud to unveil the MINI-DOLLAR!
    I bought a roll of dollars last week just for kicks...found just one SBA, and a mix of Sacagawea and the edge lettered Native Americans and some not so pretty Presidential coins. The interest level in all of these is pretty low, and I can see why. No junk silver to discover, most of the President coins were not released for circulation, Sacagaweas weren't even consistent as a series...it's all like one mini-dollar experiment.

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,116 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Good article by Lianna:

    https://coinweek.com/modern-coins/the-story-behind-the-susan-b-anthony-dollar/

    Here's just the first two paragraphs:

    Lianna Spurrier wrote:

    Large dollar coins have never been overly successful in the United States. Early silver dollars didn’t circulate widely in the US, and even Morgan and Peace dollars sat in vaults. The public preferred to carry lighter, more convenient silver certificates more than large coins, so most of the coins themselves stayed out of circulation. Eisenhower dollars were mostly rejected for their large size, and without silver content, any appeal of a large dollar coin was lost.

    The Susan B. Anthony dollar was supposed to be the Goldilocks solution – just the right size, just the right design – to finally get a dollar coin to circulate in the US.

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,116 ✭✭✭✭✭

    If PCGS offered a First Strike label for these, how many would come off these press release announcements?

  • This content has been removed.
  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,116 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2, 2021 5:44AM

    @SummerDays3104 said:

    @Zoins said:

    @ricko said:
    There were great hopes for this coin.... all of which failed to materialize. Cheers, RickO

    There were many great hopes for the dollar coin of many types which all failed to materialize, starting with the Draped Bust Dollar which was discontinued and left us without a dollar coin for 30 years.

    For some reason, the dollar coin is just not a very successful circulating denomination in the US.

    We should go back to either the Peace, Morgan, or Ike Dollar... I feel those were the most successful of all the dollar coins... Especially the Morgan

    The Seated Dollars were issued for more years than these, and all of these were discontinued.... The Morgan was discontinued for over 15 years before 1921. The Peace was the end of the line for dollars for decades and didn't liast 15 years. The Ike was the end of the line for large dollars and didn't last 10 years.

  • This content has been removed.
  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,116 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @SummerDays3104 said:

    @Zoins said:

    @SummerDays3104 said:

    @Zoins said:

    @ricko said:
    There were great hopes for this coin.... all of which failed to materialize. Cheers, RickO

    There were many great hopes for the dollar coin of many types which all failed to materialize, starting with the Draped Bust Dollar which was discontinued and left us without a dollar coin for 30 years.

    For some reason, the dollar coin is just not a very successful circulating denomination in the US.

    We should go back to either the Peace, Morgan, or Ike Dollar... I feel those were the most successful of all the dollar coins... Especially the Morgan

    All of these were discontinued.... The Morgan was discontinued. The Peace was the end of the line for dollars for decades, and the Ike was the end of the line for large dollars.

    I mean, I know that but maybe we could have something similar... A new large dollar? Idk, just a thought

    A large dollar isn't the right form factor any more.

    The UK pound coin is the diameter of a nickel but bimetallic and thicker.

  • This content has been removed.
  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,116 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2, 2021 6:01AM

    @SummerDays3104 said:
    I guess that's true... But why do we compete with other countries for size? Well, putting aside the size, we should have better designs if we REALLY want to compete with other countries, we should bring back the Morgan (or Peace) Dollar in smaller size using copper, nickel, or heck, BRASS!

    It seems not enough people care enough to bring back Lady Liberty on circulating coins. There was a House bill to do this a few years ago. Not a single person on the forums indicated they contacted their representative on this. It's not surprising Lady Liberty cannot come back if even coin collectors won't get behind it!

    Does Lady Liberty Have a Better Chance Now?

  • jwittenjwitten Posts: 5,154 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2, 2021 7:25AM

    Cool piece! Thanks for sharing

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