Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 3, 2011

The Sacagawea dollar is a United States dollar coin that has been minted every year since 2000. The Statue of Liberty was originally proposed as the design subject, but Sacagawea, the Shoshone guide of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was eventually chosen. The coin features an obverse by Glenna Goodacre, with a reverse by Thomas D. Rogers used from 2000 to 2008. The new dollar coin was heavily marketed via a series of print, radio and television advertisements, as well as United States Mint partnerships with Wal-Mart and Cheerios. The Mint initially planned to issue a 22-karat gold collector Sacagawea dollar in addition to the regular production, but this idea was quickly abandoned after the Mint's authority to strike the coins was questioned. Soon after initial production of the dollar, it was noticed that some of the coins were struck with the obverse of a state quarter and the normal reverse. The Sacagawea dollar did not prove popular with the public, and mintage dropped sharply in the second year of production. In 2009, the reverse of the Sacagawea began changing yearly, with each design in the series depicting a different Native American accomplishment. (more...)

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