who is on the 1980 silver dollar

[StLilah]

Ah, the famous 1980 silver dollar! Let's clear up a shiny misconception right away. The formidable portrait on that coin belongs to the one and only Susan B. Anthony, a pivotal leader in the women's suffrage movement. She holds the distinction of being the first real woman to be depicted on a circulating United States coin, a long-overdue honor.

Now, about that "silver" part. It’s a bit of an affectionate misnomer passed down from the days of hefty, silver-filled dollar coins. Despite its silvery appearance, the 1980 Susan B. Anthony dollar is actually a copper-nickel clad coin and contains no precious metal. Think of it as silver in spirit, but not in substance.

Flipping the coin over, you'll find an eagle landing on the moon, a tribute to the Apollo 11 mission. The coin's real claim to infamy was its size and reeded edge, which made it notoriously easy to mistake for a quarter. This widespread confusion led to a rather lukewarm public reception and a short production run, making it a fun but flawed piece of pocket-change history.