Are Susan B. Anthony Dollars Worth Anything? Here's What We Know
Coin collectors, or numismatists, are keen to know the worth of each piece in their trove. Are Susan B. Anthony dollars worth anything?
March 2 2023, Published 12:44 p.m. ET
Coin collectors, or numismatists, are keen to know the worth of each piece in their trove. The worth and value of each are direly important to the practice of numismatics as a whole. Trends in coin collecting have come and gone over time, and different coins and bills have fluctuated in rarity throughout history.
Many may own a Susan B. Anthony dollar and might be curious as to how truly valuable they are. Are Susan B. Anthony dollars worth anything? Here's what we know.
The Susan B. Anthony dollar marked an important point in U.S. history.
The Susan B. Anthony dollar marked the first time that a woman was featured on printed U.S. currency, replacing former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The coin was printed from 1979 to 1981 before briefly returning to circulation in 1999. Anthony was a leader in the Women's Suffrage Movement, which was the initial social movement that allowed women to vote in elections.
The coin was first removed from the public due to poor response over the decision to print the dollar, even though it was the nation's first small-size dollar coin. Former President Jimmy Carter signed the bill that would launch the Susan B. Anthony dollar into public use.
Initially, Susan B. Anthony dollars were worth just that — a dollar — but they have since seen a greater return on value. Now, they're heavily sought after by numismatists craving one for their coin collection.
These are the most rare Susan B. Anthony dollars.
Susan B. Anthony dollars can be worth quite a bit of money. When collecting coins, the value and worth play key decision-making aspects for what coins are highly prized in the world of numismatics. Just as any form of collection or curation has its own ranking tier of how worth and value influence importance, numismatic experts have determined the rarest Susan B. Anthony dollars.
Per The Spruce Crafts, here are the six most rare Susan B. Anthony dollars:
- 1979-P Wide Rim (Near Date)
- 1979-P Narrow Rim (Far Date)
- 1979-S Proof Type 1 (Blob Mint Mark)
- 1979-S Proof Type 2 (Clear Mint Mark)
- 1981-S Proof Type 1 (Clear Mint Mark)
- 1981-S Proof Type 2 (Flat Mint Mark)
While some Susan B. Anthony dollars may resell for hundreds even thousands of dollars, most of them are priced from $1.05 to $1.35. eBay resellers hike up dramatic price points, though these inflated rates don't always reflect the true value. Some higher-end coins may be valued at $5.00–$8.00, with the exception of certain minted dollars reaching $25.00 in value.
Many people collect Susan B. Anthony dollars.
Every collection has a beginning, whether that collection is intentional or not. There's a starting place that allows collectors to build off of their hoard, and numismatists keep up with collecting based on more coin value alone. When collecting Susan B. Anthony dollars, the coins can be categorized in a number of ways. There's no "right" or "wrong" way to collect Susan B. Anthony dollars, but there are a number of methods used in numismatics used to classify collections of these coins.
A collection can be started by purchasing coins online or in person at local coin shops. On occasion, it's possible that these coins can be found in circulations at banks. Type collecting is used when coins from a specific mint are kept together, while others may prefer to collect Susan B. Anthony dollars in date sets from a certain period of time. It's extremely common to collect Susan B. Anthony dollars as date-time sets, where a complete collection consists of 11 coins in total.
Collectors can identify a complete set of Susan B. Anthony dollars by obtaining one of each of the coins:
- 1979-P
- 1979-D
- 1979-S
- 1980-P
- 1980-D
- 1980-S
- 1981-P
- 1981-D
- 1981-S
- 1999-P
- 1999-D