1979-P Susan B. Anthony Dollar (Wide Rim, Near Date variety)
Variety of the 1979-P Susan B. Anthony Dollar struck at the Philadelphia Mint
- Mintage
- Not recorded
- Metal
- Copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel
- Weight
- 8.1 g
- Diameter
- 26.5 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1979-P Susan B. Anthony Dollar (Wide Rim, Near Date variety) worth?
Value depends entirely on whether the coin is genuine and on its condition. Have any candidate authenticated before you buy or sell.
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1979-P Susan B. Anthony Dollar (Wide Rim, Near Date variety) rare?
- Yes. It's a variety or error, not a regular issue.
- Is the 1979-P Susan B. Anthony Dollar (Wide Rim, Near Date variety) silver?
- No. It's copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel. Circulating silver dollars ended with the 1935 Peace dollar. Some Eisenhower dollars with an S mint mark were made in 40% silver for collectors, but circulation Ike dollars are copper-nickel clad.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1979 Susan B. Anthony Dollar?
- On the obverse, to the left of Anthony's portrait, just above her shoulder (P, D or S). On this coin the mark is P, for Philadelphia.
What to check on your 1979-P
- Make sure the mint mark really is a P. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1979-S (110 million made).
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1979-S Susan B. Anthony Dollar Proof (3,677,175 made) is the one to compare with.
- A face that's fully copper colored could be a missing clad layer error. Patchy discoloration is usually damage.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check Anthony's cheekbone and the hair behind her ear, then the eagle's feathers. Most survivors are bright and lightly worn; uncirculated coins are common.
Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1979-P
More on the 1979-P
Philadelphia struck most of its 1979 dollars with a Narrow Rim, then widened the rim on later dies. Coins from those later dies are the Wide Rim, or Near Date, variety. The variety has no separate mintage and is included in the 1979-P total of 360,222,000. Only Philadelphia coins are collected this way; the Denver and San Francisco coins of 1979 are not divided into rim types.
The diagnostic is easy once you know it. The rim is noticeably broader and more rounded. The bottom of the date nearly touches it. On the Narrow Rim, the date sits farther from the rim with a clear gap. Place a known Narrow Rim coin beside yours if you can, since the difference is clearer side by side. The Wide Rim is considerably scarcer but not rare. It carries a collector premium, especially in high uncirculated grades. Grading services recognize it on their labels, so certification helps if you plan to sell.
1979: launch year and the rim change (1979)
The Susan B. Anthony dollar was authorized by a law signed on October 10, 1978 and released on July 2, 1979. It replaced the large Eisenhower dollar with a coin 26.5 millimeters across, made of copper-nickel clad copper. All three mints struck it in enormous numbers: 360,222,000 at Philadelphia, 288,015,744 at Denver and 109,576,000 at San Francisco, a total of 757,813,744. The Philadelphia coins carried a P mint mark, the first time that letter had appeared on a US coin since the wartime nickels of 1942 to 1945.
The public turned against it almost at once. It was close to a quarter in size and color and had a reeded edge, so people confused the two. Cash registers had no slot for it either. Large numbers stayed in Treasury and bank vaults, which is why uncirculated 1979 dollars remain plentiful today and most worn ones are worth face value.
Two varieties make 1979 worth a careful look. After a large number of coins had been struck, the Mint widened the rim on the Philadelphia dies. On this Wide Rim, or Near Date, variety the bottom of the date almost touches the rim; on the common Narrow Rim the date sits farther in. The Wide Rim is considerably scarcer but not rare. San Francisco's proofs also come in two types: early coins have a filled, blob-like S, while those struck late in the year show a clear, open S. The Type 2 Clear S is the scarcer proof.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1979
The small Susan B. Anthony dollar replaced the Eisenhower dollar. It was too easily confused with the quarter and saw little use.
How to recognize it
Frank Gasparro's portrait shows Susan B. Anthony facing right, her hair drawn back into a bun above a high collar. LIBERTY runs across the top, the date sits at the bottom and IN GOD WE TRUST appears in small letters to the right of her chin. Thirteen stars ring the field and the P, D or S mint mark is just above her shoulder on the left side. Both faces are framed by an eleven-sided inner border, added to help people tell the coin from a quarter by touch and sight. The reverse keeps the Eisenhower dollar's eagle adapted from the Apollo 11 insignia: an eagle with spread wings lands on the moon holding an olive branch, with the Earth above. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA arcs over the top, E PLURIBUS UNUM sits beside the Earth and ONE DOLLAR is below. The coin is 26.5 mm across with a reeded edge.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Susan B. Anthony Dollar (1979–1999) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1979 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | "P" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | Not recorded |
| Face value | $1 |
| Composition | Copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel |
| Weight | 8.1 grams |
| Diameter | 26.5 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | Frank Gasparro |
Other 1979 Susan B. Anthony Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979-P Susan B. Anthony Dollar | 360,222,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1979-P Susan B. Anthony Dollar (Wide Rim, Near Date variety) | – | Variety | – |
| 1979-D Susan B. Anthony Dollar | 288,015,744 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1979-S Susan B. Anthony Dollar | 109,576,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1979-S Susan B. Anthony Dollar Proof | 3,677,175 | Proof | – |
| 1979-S Susan B. Anthony Dollar Proof (Type 2, Clear S) | – | Variety | – |
Mintage: US Mint records as published in standard references, each figure checked against at least two independent sources. How we build these pages.