What Year Did They Make the Sacagawea Dollar?

Time Frame

• The passage of the United States $1 Coin Act in 1997 paved the way for a new dollar coin to be put into circulation. Not only would the coin need to be unique in appearance, but also help ease the pressure of the short supply of the Susan B. Anthony dollars which began circulation in 1979. The gold dollar was released on Jan. 27, 2000. This dollar proved to be both beautiful and easily distinguished from its predecessors, and came with the story of the building of America.

Features

• The changes made to the dollar coin gave it a golden color, an extra-wide border, and created a smooth edge along the outside of the coin instead of the ridged edge of the earlier dollar coin. The golden dollar coin needed to be "easily distinguishable from other coins for both the sighted and the seeing-impaired." The "gold" coin is actually made of pure copper set between two layers of manganese brass. The most recognizable change to the dollar coin, however, was the inclusion of sculptor Glenn Goodacre's image on the front of the coin of Sacagawea carrying her son on her back. The reverse side of the coin features the required American bald eagle, soaring through the sky surrounded by 17 stars which represent the number of states in the union during the 1804 Lewis and Clark expedition.

History

• Sacagawea is estimated to have been 11 years old when she was captured from her Shoshone tribe by the Hidatsa. She was later sold to Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trader, and was made his wife along with another slave girl. In 1804, because of her knowledge of the land and resources, mastery of multiple languages, and diplomatic ability with what today would be called "race relations," Lewis and Clark chose Sacagawea to guide their adventures from the Northern Great Plains to the Pacific Ocean and back. She was 15 years old and six month pregnant at the time. Her son, born on the journey, was Jean Baptiste.

Significance

• Without the help of Sacagawea, Lewis and Clark's expedition of 1804 to 1806, and adventures of mapping and documenting the western territories of the United States of America, might have been a tale of tragedy rather than of victory. Placing Sacagawea on the first-ever golden dollar coin not only commemorates her great deed for a "new" land, but also brings attention to the hard sacrifice of Native Americans as America was being formed. Because this new coin is meant for circulation, it is a traveling reminder of America's history and the challenges of those who built it.

Interesting Facts

• While it is not typical of early Native Americans to carry their infants facing forward, and it became a much debated subject during the design stages, the coin reflecting such was kept as an element of artistic measure.

  The Sacagawea dollar is the first coin to have a three-quarter profile with the subject glancing out from the coin. Never before had the subject of a coin looked at the holder.

  After Sacagawea's death at age 25, Clark, forever indebted to her, took up the responsibility for educating her two children.