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.
