Déjà Vu All Over Again
They say history repeats itself. Well, they're right, especially when it comes to a dollar coin in the United States. This "Look Into the Past" will examine a rather eerie similarity.
By now, it's hard not to have noticed the new golden dollar. It's all over the place now, and looks to be the same in the future. And if you've been keeping up with the hobby, you know that
Susan B. Anthony Dollars were minted in 1999, just before the Sacagawea Dollar came out in 2000. The Anthony Dollars were made originally in 1979, 1980, and 1981, but were discontinued for eighteen years until they briefly reappeared just last year. The postal service was the main reason why a dollar coin had to be re-minted; the supply was running out and more were needed quickly. It seemed perfect, with the new dollar coming out and all, but its legislation did not permit its release until 2000. So what was the mint to do? The only thing it could- bring back the old coin after a marked absence just so it could be replaced in a short while.Rewind to 1921. Soon after the Great War, America wanted to honor peace and decided that the dollar coin would be perfect for this commemoration. No dollar coins had been minted since 1904, and why not try it again with a new design? This all made sense, so legislation was passed allowing for the minting of the
Peace Dollar. Again, legislation allowed for the coin's release beginning 1922. But the mint felt that the public needed to be reintroduced after a seventeen-year dollar coin drought. Because of this, the only option for the mint was to re-mint the Morgan Dollar coin for only a year.Isn't that odd? Although the reasoning for what happened is different, the events surrounding the last two changes in American dollar coins were very similar. In both cases, a dollar coin had been discontinued for a while, not to mention that their respective absences were almost the same at 18 and 17 years. In both cases, the coin was re-issued due to problems concerning legislation. And in both cases, the coins were replaced by a pre-planned new design the very next year. Could something like this happen again? Might the Sacagawea Dollar be discontinued only to be re-minted 16 years later and give way to the next dollar coin? We'll just have to wait and see.
The Morgan Dollars minted in 1921 far outweighed previous mintages, totaling over 80 million combined for the year. I own one from Philadelphia. Just over a million Peace Dollars were minted in December 1921 and bear that date, but were not released until January 1922. About 46 million Susan B. Anthony Dollars were minted beginning mid-summer 1999, with 35 million coming from Philadelphia. Sacagawea Dollars began production in late 1999 as well, but all bear a date of 2000.
-Gee
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