1981-S Susan B. Anthony Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 3,492,000 made
- Mintage
- 3,492,000
- Metal
- Copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel
- Weight
- 8.1 g
- Diameter
- 26.5 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1981-S Susan B. Anthony Dollar worth?
A worn 1981-S is a spender: face value. A bright uncirculated one, or one with a known error, is worth setting aside.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1981-S Susan B. Anthony Dollar rare?
- No. 3.5 million were made, a typical run for the series. Condition and varieties decide its value, not the date.
- Is the 1981-S Susan B. Anthony Dollar silver?
- No. It's copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel. Circulating silver dollars ended with the 1935 Peace dollar. Some Eisenhower dollars with an S mint mark were made in 40% silver for collectors, but circulation Ike dollars are copper-nickel clad.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1981 Susan B. Anthony Dollar?
- On the obverse, to the left of Anthony's portrait, just above her shoulder (P, D or S). On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- How many 1981-S Susan B. Anthony Dollar coins were made?
- 3,492,000.
What to check on your 1981-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1981-P (3 million made).
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1981-S Susan B. Anthony Dollar Proof (4,063,083 made) is the one to compare with.
- A face that's fully copper colored could be a missing clad layer error. Patchy discoloration is usually damage.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check Anthony's cheekbone and the hair behind her ear, then the eagle's feathers. Most survivors are bright and lightly worn; uncirculated coins are common.
With 3 million made, the 1981-S still turns up in everyday change. Keep yours only if it looks uncirculated or shows a variety; otherwise it's worth face value.
The story of the 1981-S
Production at San Francisco fell off a cliff in 1981. Only 3,492,000 were made, against 20 million the year before. That drop is why the 1981-S is the one people look for. It turned out to be San Francisco's last Susan B. Anthony Dollar for circulation.
1981-P came to 3 million and 1981-D came to 3.3 million, so neither mint's 1981 coin is much scarcer than the other.
More on the 1981-S
San Francisco struck 3,492,000 business-strike Anthony dollars in 1981, all for mint sets. Those coins are separate from the 1981-S proofs, which were sold in proof sets with mirror surfaces and number 4,063,083. The business strike is the most common of the three 1981 mint set coins, but only slightly.
To tell a mint set coin from a proof, look at the fields. A business strike has satiny luster, while a proof has a mirror finish, frosted design and sharp, squared rims. Typical 1981-S business strikes trade at a small premium. High-grade coins bring more. Check for toning or marks from handling if the coin is out of its set. If you do have a proof, look at the S as well, since the scarce Type 2 proofs were struck late that year. The business strike S was the only San Francisco Anthony dollar of 1981 that was not a proof.
Falling output and collector-only 1981 coins (1980 to 1981)
With the 1979 dollars piling up unused, the Mint cut production sharply. Philadelphia struck 27,610,000 in 1980, Denver 41,628,708 and San Francisco 20,422,000. Many of these went straight into storage rather than into change, so uncirculated 1980 dollars are as easy to find as the 1979 coins. San Francisco also struck 3,554,806 proofs that year, all with a well-formed S. In both 1980 and 1981 Denver struck more dollars than Philadelphia, the reverse of the pattern in 1979.
By 1981 no more were needed for commerce. The 1981 dollars from Philadelphia (3,000,000), Denver (3,250,000) and San Francisco (3,492,000) were issued only in mint sets sold to collectors, so they were never released into everyday use. That makes them the lowest-mintage business strikes of the series, though nearly every one survives in uncirculated condition. Coins that have been out of their sets for years may show toning or handling marks. A fully original coin with clean surfaces is the one to look for.
The 1981-S proof, with 4,063,083 struck, also has two mint mark types. A worn punch was replaced in the autumn of 1981 with a new one that gives a sharper S with bulbous serifs. These Type 2 coins are somewhat scarcer than the 1979-S Type 2. When grading 1980 and 1981 coins, check Anthony's cheekbone and the eagle's feathers for wear, since most survivors are close to mint condition and small differences matter.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1981
Susan B. Anthony dollars were made only for collector sets, ending the design until a final run in 1999.
How to recognize it
Frank Gasparro's portrait shows Susan B. Anthony facing right, her hair drawn back into a bun above a high collar. LIBERTY runs across the top, the date sits at the bottom and IN GOD WE TRUST appears in small letters to the right of her chin. Thirteen stars ring the field and the P, D or S mint mark is just above her shoulder on the left side. Both faces are framed by an eleven-sided inner border, added to help people tell the coin from a quarter by touch and sight. The reverse keeps the Eisenhower dollar's eagle adapted from the Apollo 11 insignia: an eagle with spread wings lands on the moon holding an olive branch, with the Earth above. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA arcs over the top, E PLURIBUS UNUM sits beside the Earth and ONE DOLLAR is below. The coin is 26.5 mm across with a reeded edge.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Susan B. Anthony Dollar (1979–1999) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 3,492,000 |
| Face value | $1 |
| Composition | Copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel |
| Weight | 8.1 grams |
| Diameter | 26.5 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | Frank Gasparro |
Other 1981 Susan B. Anthony Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981-P Susan B. Anthony Dollar | 3,000,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1981-D Susan B. Anthony Dollar | 3,250,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1981-S Susan B. Anthony Dollar | 3,492,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1981-S Susan B. Anthony Dollar Proof | 4,063,083 | Proof | – |
| 1981-S Susan B. Anthony Dollar Proof (Type 2, Clear S) | – | Variety | – |
Mintage: US Mint records as published in standard references, each figure checked against at least two independent sources. How we build these pages.