2019-P $1 Native American Position B (Regular Strike)

The 2019-P Native American Dollar

Since 2009, the United States Mint has featured a new reverse design annually for the Native American $1 Coin. Authorized by the Native American $1 Coin Act (Public Law 110-82), this program honors the diverse contributions of Native Americans to U.S. history. The Act also mandates that these coins represent at least 20% of all dollar coins minted each year.

Honoring American Indians in Space

Following the 2019 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary commemorative releases, the Mint chose to celebrate the role of American Indians in the space program. The 2019 Native American Dollar features:

• Mary Golda Ross: A pioneer in aerospace engineering.
• John Herrington: A member of the Chickasaw Nation and the first Native American to walk in space (during the STS-113 mission to the International Space Station).
• The Atlas-Agena Rocket: Symbolizing the propulsion technology that powered the Gemini missions.

The Legacy of Mary Golda Ross (1908–2008)

Mary Golda Ross was a trailblazer. The great-granddaughter of Cherokee Chief John Ross, she became the first female engineer at Lockheed Corporation. In 1952, she joined the legendary "Skunk Works" (Advanced Development Program), where she drafted designs for interplanetary travel and satellites—some of which remain classified. She was also a primary contributor to NASA’s Planetary Flight Handbook, Vol. 3, providing the essential mathematical foundations for orbital trajectories.

Astronaut John Herrington (1958-Present)

John Bennett Herrington is a retired U.S. Naval Aviator and NASA astronaut who logged nearly 4,000 flight hours in more than 30 types of aircraft before his selection as an astronaut candidate. During the 13-day STS-113 mission in 2002, Herrington performed three spacewalks, becoming the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe (the Chickasaw Nation) to fly in space. Since retiring from NASA in 2005, he has been a passionate advocate for STEM education, particularly for Indigenous youth, and authored the children’s book Mission to Space (2016).

Coin Release

The U.S. Mint released the 2019-P (Philadelphia) and 2019-D (Denver) dollars on February 13, 2019. Because these coins were produced exclusively for collectors and not for general circulation, they are typically found in Mint State condition as singles, or part of sets, bags, or rolls.

The Mint offered 25-coin 2019-P and 2019-D rolls for $32.95, plus shipping and handling, 100-coin bags for $111.95; and 250-coin boxes for $275.95.

As of January 2026, PCGS has certified just over 500 examples, across various label varieties, with the typical coin grading MS67. It's important to note that this does not imply that the typical raw example would grade as high.

Furthermore, the "Golden Dollar" alloy (manganese-brass) is highly susceptible to tarnishing and environmental spotting. To maintain a pristine brilliant uncirculated finish, store your coins in a cool, dry, and temperature-controlled environment.

Position A vs. Position B

PCGS identifies the edge lettering orientation as either Position A (the lettering is upside-down when the portrait is face-up) or Position B (the lettering is right-side-up). Given a large enough population of coins, the distribution of these two positions should naturally equalize to a 50:50 ratio.

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