Frank Gasparro was the tenth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint, holding this position from February 23, 1965, to January 16, 1981. Before that, he was Assistant Engraver. He designed both sides of the Susan B. Anthony dollar, both sides of the Eisenhower Dollar, the Lincoln Memorial reverse of the cent, and the reverse of the Kennedy half dollar.
Frank Gasparro Historical Marker
Image: Eisenhower dollar
The Susan B. Anthony dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1979 to 1981 when production was suspended due to poor public acceptance, and then again in 1999. Intended as a replacement for the larger Eisenhower dollar, the new smaller one-dollar coin went through testing of several shapes and compositions, but all were opposed by the vending machine industry, a powerful lobby affecting coin legislation. Finally, a round planchet with an eleven-sided inner border was chosen for the smaller dollar.
Image: 1981 S SBA$ Type Two Deep Cameo
Image: 1981 S SBA$ Type Two Deep Cameo
The similarity in size and material composition between the new Susan B. Anthony dollar (left) and the Washington quarter (right) caused immediate confusion in transactions.
After passage of the United States $1 Coin Act of 1997, the Mint struck pattern coins, depicting Martha Washington and dated 1759, to test a more distinctive, gold-colored coin.
