1999-D Susan B. Anthony Dollar

The story of the 1999-D

Denver hadn't struck the Susan B. Anthony Dollar since 1981. When it came back in 1999, it made 11,776,000. It was also the last year of the series.

1999-P came to 30 million, so neither mint's 1999 coin is much scarcer than the other.

More on the 1999-D

Denver struck 11,776,000 Anthony dollars in 1999, fewer than half of Philadelphia's total. That makes the 1999-D the lowest-mintage Anthony dollar that was made for circulation, since the 1981 coins went only into mint sets. The Mint also sold it in two-coin uncirculated sets with a 1999-P.

The 1999-D is common and trades at face value or a small premium. Check that the D above the shoulder is clear. Golden planchet errors of 1999 are documented mainly on Philadelphia coins. A gold-colored 1999-D is far more likely to be privately plated and needs authentication. The coins otherwise look exactly like the Denver dollars of 1979 and 1980, so the date is the only quick way to tell them apart. A sharp, lustrous coin with few marks is the one to keep. Denver struck no proofs of the design that year, so the 1999-D exists only as a business strike from circulation runs and the two-coin sets.

The long gap and the 1999 encore (1982 to 1999)

No Anthony dollars were struck from 1982 through 1998. The Treasury still held huge stocks from 1979 and 1980. Those coins slowly found work in vending machines, transit fare systems and postal stamp machines, where a dollar coin made more sense than a paper bill. By 1999 that demand had nearly emptied the vaults and the new Sacagawea dollar was not due until 2000.

The Mint struck one last run in 1999: 29,592,000 at Philadelphia and 11,776,000 at Denver, for 41,368,000 in all. San Francisco made none for circulation. The Mint also sold two-coin uncirculated sets with a P and a D dollar and a separate 1999-P proof in its own box with a certificate of authenticity. That proof was struck at Philadelphia with a P mint mark and was not part of the regular 1999 proof set, whose other coins carried an S.

The 1999 coins look just like the earlier dollars, with the same eleven-sided inner border and the Apollo 11 reverse. They were the last coins of the design. The gold-colored Sacagawea dollar that followed was the same size with a plain edge. A very small number of 1999 Anthony dollars were struck by mistake on the golden planchets meant for the new coin; these errors are rare and should be authenticated. Ordinary 1999 dollars are common and trade at face value or a small premium.

Elsewhere in US coinage in 1999

The 50 State Quarters program began, with five new reverse designs each year in the order the states joined the Union.