Q. David Bowers
Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro was assigned the task of creating a portrait of Anthony. He had already finished a classic Liberty head, based loosely on the Libertas Americana head. Many seasoned observers, including much of the numismatic community, felt that would have been much better than the Anthony choice, but political considerations were uppermost at the Bureau and Mint Director Stella Hackel did not choose to undo the damage.(A variation of Frank Gasparro's Liberty Head was earlier used on a medal for the American Numismatic Association, in which context it was widely praised. In 1978 Mint Director Stella Hackel ordered the destruction of large quantities of twentieth century Mint records, apparently for the sole purpose of erasing the historical record. Most of these had never been examined closely by numismatic researchers. Now, the information is irretrievably lost.)
Frank Gasparro was told to copy precisely the portrait of Anthony that he was furnished, warts and all. The view chosen is very unflattering to Miss Anthony. Gasparro should have been allowed to soften the portrait to give her a more human look. Ideologues in the Bureau and Treasury (as well as, perhaps, elements within the White House staff), presumably headed by Director Hackel, adamantly insisted on an uncompromising look to reflect the "struggle" then going on in the real world for political supremacy in the different segments of American society.
The stern look of the portrait invariably led to sarcastic remarks from the public. The most widely-heard comment, "Susan B. Agony," accurately reflected the public view of her visage. ("Agony dollar" was also commonly heard.) Numismatists were especially hard on the Bureau of the Mint over this coin and rightfully so.
The reverse of the Eisenhower dollar, suitably reduced, was used for the reverse of the new coin. This was a sensible decision, one of the few made in the entire project, and probably derived from a realization that it would aid in public acceptance of the new coin. There were certainly elements in the Treasury and Bureau of the Mint who knew that a blatantly political coin was bound to create problems.
Representative Mary Rose Oakar (Ohio) introduced the necessary bill in Congress for the administration and on October 10, 1978, it was signed into law by the president. She had made several previous attempts to introduce a smaller-sized dollar. There was a limited "test coinage" beginning on December 13,1978 (presumably dated 1979) of about one million pieces. The test went well because, unlike the Peace dollar of 1921, enough time had been taken by real professionals at Philadelphia to consider the striking qualities and depth that could be achieved and still have a quality coinage.
In a bizarre decision for a coin marked by strange choices, the Bureau determined that the public might just hoard this coin in such large quantities that it would not circulate! Five hundred million coins were therefore struck before Anthony dollars were released to the public in July 1979. The Bureau need not have worried. Not only was the coin not hoarded, there would be great difficulty in even getting the public to use them! Even after it was abundantly clear that the coin had failed, another 90 million were struck in 1980! Apparently, this was from a government unwillingness to admit that anything was wrong.
Because certain powerful senators, apparently including Senator Proxmire, wanted to make some obscure political point, funds for the Anthony dollar were withheld from the Mint Bureau in April 1979, forcing a temporary shutdown of the coinage. During the following month the problem was solved and funds restored by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee.
Release of the Coins
The powers-that-be were also terrified that some coins might get out in advance, and this actually happened. Coin dealer Leon Hendrickson obtained an early bag or two of Anthony dollars and gave them away. He was careful to only give them away, lest he be charged with something illegal. (Recollection of Thomas K. DeLorey; contribution to this volume.)There was a major investigation which, in the long run, was much ado about nothing, except that even more taxpayers' money was wasted.
When the coins were actually released there was a loud yawn from the public. A few people actually spent them (mostly collectors?). Everyone soon discovered that the coins were easily confused with quarter dollars. Within two or three months the chances of seeing one in daily use were practically nil, and the situation has not improved since that time.
The mints kept on striking them through 1981, however, until some 800 million had been made; it was an exercise in futility which seriously rivals in the annals of ridiculous government actions the melting down of hundreds of millions of Morgan dollars under the 1918 Pittman Act and the subsequent coining of otherwise unwanted dollars to replace them. At the time, apparently common sense was the rarest of commodities!
Even the United States Post Office was enlisted in a-vain attempt (February 1 to March 14, 1980) to distribute the coins. Signs were posted, and such coins were given out in change. This idea crashed after patrons made it clear to postal clerks that they did not want the "Susies" under any conditions.
There was also an attempt, late in 1979, to use the smaller dollars to pay military personnel in Europe, but complaints forced an end to the practice. The coins could be used only on the bases as banks in Europe discounted them heavily in making exchanges for local currency.