Making matters harder, too, was the reluctance of Americans to stop using the dollar bill (which was simultaneously in production with the Anthony dollar) in lieu of adopting the smaller dollar coin. Why? The coin, measuring 26.5 millimeters in diameter and silvery in color too closely approximated the appearance of the Washington quarter, and thus many people confused the denominations, often losing 75 cents (or more) in transactions. Anthony dollars were released in July 1979 with much fanfare, but the coin soon proved a massive flop. Anthony, was a champion for women's rights in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and seemed a fitting design subject in an era of equal rights. Making this first even more historic was the fact that the coin would be the first US coin to place the figure of a non-mythical woman on the obverse.
Authorized by a 1978 bill signed by President Jimmy Carter, the United States Mint began production of the nation's first small-size dollar coin. In 1979, the United States government undertook what many may call a socio-numismatic experiment.
