Is there silver in a Susan B Anthony dollar?
No. Not a trace. The SBA dollar is copper-nickel clad over a pure copper core, the same sandwich as the quarters and dimes in your pocket. It looks silvery because nickel does, and that resemblance fuels the most common disappointment at any coin counter: a jar of "silver dollars" that turn out to be Anthonys. Real silver dollars (Morgans, Peace dollars, and earlier) are larger, heavier, and ring differently, and those we buy on their silver and collector merits every day.
That same look-alike problem is why the coin failed in circulation. It is barely bigger than a quarter, the same color, and reeded on the edge like one, so people kept spending dollars as 25 cents. The public refused it, the Mint stopped after 1981, and only a 1999 vending-machine shortage briefly revived it before the golden Sacagawea dollar replaced it in 2000.
Which Susan B Anthony dollars are worth more than a dollar?
The series ran only four years: 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1999. Circulated common dates are worth one dollar, full stop. The value hides in these varieties:
The 1979 blob mint mark and other valuable Susan B Anthony varieties
The variety people ask about most is the 1979-S proof with the so-called blob mint mark: early proof dies carried a worn, filled S that looks like a shapeless blob (Type 1), and later dies a clear S (Type 2). The clear Type 2 is the valuable one, and the same Type 1 versus Type 2 game repeats on the 1981-S proofs. On circulation coins, the 1979-P wide rim (near date) variety is the one worth pulling aside. All are checked free at the counter.
| Variety | How to spot it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1979-P Wide Rim ("Near Date") | The date sits nearly touching the rim, and the rim is noticeably fatter than on common 1979-P coins | The scarce first-year variety collectors actively hunt; the everyday Narrow Rim is face value |
| Any 1981 (P, D or S) | Check the date; the mint mark sits left of Anthony's portrait | 1981 dollars were struck only for collector sets, never released for circulation, so mintages are low |
| Proof coins with an S | Mirror-like fields, frosted portrait, S mint mark, usually in a holder | San Francisco proofs were sold to collectors and bring more than face, condition depending |
| 1979-S Type 2 "Clear S" proof | The S mint mark is crisp and open rather than a blobby filled shape | The scarcest mainstream SBA variety; the clear S commands a real premium over the common filled S |
Condition multiplies all of this. A Wide Rim or 1981 coin that spent years in circulation is worth far less than one that sat in a mint set, and certified high grades are their own market. That grading judgment is exactly what a counter does in front of you.
Is the Sacagawea dollar coin also just face value?
Mostly, yes. The golden Sacagawea dollar that replaced the SBA in 2000 is manganese brass, not gold, and circulated pieces are worth a dollar. The exceptions are the 2000-P Cheerios dollar with enhanced tail feathers and certain mint-set varieties, which is exactly the kind of thing a free counter check catches.
What to do with a jar of themShould I bother bringing Susan B Anthony dollars in?
Yes, and here is the honest framing: most of the jar will be worth a dollar a coin, and we will tell you so to your face. But Wide Rims, 1981s and proofs are exactly the coins that hide in inherited jars and dresser drawers, because the people who set them aside rarely labeled why. The check takes minutes, costs nothing, and the same visit covers whatever else is in the jar: Bicentennial quarters, halves, wheat cents, and any real silver mixed in gets weighed and priced from the live feed.
Bring the jar. The common coins get an honest "face value," the varieties get a real offer, and anything silver gets weighed against the live market, same-day cash.
Find your nearest of our 8 storesSusan B Anthony dollar FAQs
What years were Susan B Anthony dollars made?
1979, 1980 and 1981, then one encore year in 1999 when vending machines ran short of dollar coins before the Sacagawea launched. The 1981 coins went only into collector sets, which is why any 1981 date is worth checking.
How much is a 1979 Susan B Anthony dollar worth?
A circulated common 1979 is worth one dollar. The exception is the 1979-P Wide Rim, where the date nearly touches a noticeably fat rim: that variety brings a real collector premium, more in uncirculated condition. Proofs with an S also bring more, especially the clear-S Type 2.
Why do Susan B Anthony dollars look like quarters?
Same copper-nickel color, nearly the same size, and a reeded edge. The public constantly mistook the two, spent dollars as quarters, and rejected the coin, which is why the series lasted only four years and why later dollar coins were made golden-colored and smooth-edged.
Will you buy Susan B Anthony dollars that are only worth face value?
We will check every coin for the valuable varieties first and tell you plainly which are face value; a jar of common Anthonys is honestly worth more spent than sold. What the visit really buys you is certainty that no Wide Rim, 1981 or proof slipped through, and an offer on anything in the jar that is worth more.