The Sacagawea Dollar
The Sacagawea Coin
Designed by Glenna Goodacre, the front of the coin features a portrait of Sacagawea with her infant son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. The reverse side showcases an eagle soaring across a stylized landscape. The purpose behind this new design was to honor Native American culture and highlight the contributions made by indigenous people throughout history.
This coin was created partly to correct an issue with the Susan B. Anthony dollar. Due to similarities to quarters, the Susan B. Anthony was accepted by vending machines as a quarter.
The Sacagawea coin design incorporates an outer layer of manganese brass. It's the first dollar made with this, and the brass gives it a golden hue. This helped make it simpler to tell this coin apart from a quarter.