Sacagawea Golden Dollar Coin
The Sacagawea Golden Dollar was first issued in 2000 as a substitute for the unpopular Susan B. Anthony dollar coin. For many Americans, this unique dollar coin quickly became a collector’s item. Since its golden appearance made it an interesting conversation piece, it stood out among many other contemporary coins.
The Sacagawea strike presents a young Shoshone woman with her infant boy, Jean-Baptiste, carried on her back. Glenna Goodacre, the artist of the coin, used a model named Randy'L He-dow Teton, a 22-year old Idaho Shoshone woman residing in New Mexico at the time. So ironically, the picture on the dollar coin is not actually a picture of Sacagawea, for the simple fact that no known image exists of her. What is known of Sacagawea's life is recorded with much mystery and myth. A great deal of what we know of her has been passed on through tales of history by the Hidatsa, Shoshone and Comanche American Indian tribes. Quite a little is known about her as a young lady and even less is known about her later life. But what we have discovered is extraordinary. She is most famous for her short encounter as a pathfinder to the Lewis and Clark expedition, searching the American West in 1804-1806.
Nonetheless, the observance of Sacagawea with her portrayal on the dollar coin comes after numerous other similar honors. It is often said that no woman in the US has more statues in her honor. Even today, many public schools, many of which are located in the Northwest, are named for Sacagawea, as well as mountain peaks, rivers and lakes.
Sacagawea dollars began being coined in 2000 in compliance with the United States government $1 Coin Act of 1997. These coins were created to substitute the not so popular Susan B. Anthony dollar coins which were frequently confused with quarters because of their similar size and same reeled edge. To rectify this problem, Sacagawea dollars were given a smooth outer edge similar to the our five cent Nickel coin and distinguishing gold color which made it the only gold-colored coin in the United States that was circulating at the time.
The Sacagawea dollar coin still remains as a glorious piece of American and Native American history!