To mark 25 years since the Sacagawea dollar’s release, the United States Mint may issue a 24K gold coin in 2025 featuring its original design. The U.S. Mint presented the possibility today to the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) for feedback.
The $1 coin, often called the Sacagawea “golden dollar” due to its composition that gives it a distinctive gold color, entered circulation in 2000 as part of an effort to establish a widely used dollar coin. That effort continued until 2002, when production was scaled back, and the coins were struck exclusively for collectors. In 2009, the Mint introduced its Native American $1 Coin Program, which features the same Sacagawea obverse design but annually changing reverse designs.
As proposed, the 2025 Sacagawea 25th Anniversary Gold Coin would be struck in a half-ounce of gold, with a diameter just 20 thousandths of an inch larger than the original dollar.
The obverse design features Sacagawea in a three-quarter profile with her infant son, Jean Baptiste, on her back. Inscriptions include “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “2025.” As U.S. Mint gold coins are produced at its West Point facility, the anniversary dollar would carry a “W” mint mark.
The reverse depicts a soaring eagle encircled by 17 stars, representing the number of states in the Union during the 1804 Lewis and Clark expedition. Its tail feathers match those of the coins released into circulation in 2000, rather than the more highly detailed diagonal tail feathers seen on the much scarcer promotional 2000 Sacagawea “Cheerios” dollars. Inscriptions read “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” and “ONE DOLLAR.”
The anniversary edition, as proposed, omits the half-ounce weight and .9999 fineness inscriptions. From a technical standpoint, these details could be added to the coin’s surface or edge. CCAC members expressed mixed opinions on whether to include them. Ultimately, the committee approved a motion recommending both designs as presented.
Other details, such as whether the coin will be issued in an uncirculated or proof finish, remain undecided or unannounced.