For the 20th Anniversary: A Sacajawea Dollar Unlike Any You’ve Seen Before
The Sacajawea Dollar (spelled “Sacagawea” by the U.S. Mint) was introduced into circulation in 2000. It represents the very first time that a Native American woman has appeared on circulating U.S. coinage, and only the second time that any Native American has been featured on circulating U.S. coinage.

Meet the Artist and Sculptor
Sculptor Glenna Goodacre (1939-2020) may be best known for her Sacagawea Dollar, but is also a well-known artist with works appearing throughout the United States, including the Vietnam Women’s Memorial installed in Washington. D.C. in 1993. She sculpted the massive Irish Memorial in Philadelphia’s Penn’s Landing, as well as a standing portrait of President Ronald Reagan for the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. Goodacre has won several awards and honorary doctorates has been immortalized on the West Texas Walk of Fame in Lubbock, Texas, and has a street named after her in the same city. She retired from sculpting in 2016.

Goodacre’s Sacajawea Dollar displays an image of Sacajawea looking over her shoulder while carrying her son Jean Baptiste on her back. It’s an impressive design dedicated to a woman who helped shape America as we know it today.

The Legacy of Sacajawea
Born in 1788 into the Lemhi-Shoshone Tribe in the Lemhi River Valley near present-day Salmon, Idaho, Sagajawea was kidnapped along with several other girls at age 12 and taken to a Hidatsa village in North Dakota, where she was then sold into marriage to French-Canadian fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau.

Four years later the Corps of Discovery, led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, arrived and built Fort Mandan. While interviewing trappers for the position of interpreter, they discovered that the then-pregnant Sacajawea spoke Shoshone, which Lewis & Clark knew they would need during their journey West. Sacajawea and Charbonneau were hired as interpreters

Just two months after giving birth to Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, Sacajawea was on her way west with the Lewis & Clark expedition. Along the way, she rescued the men’s journals when their boat capsized, assisted the expedition in bartering for horses after reuniting with her brother, who had become Chief of the Shoshone, and revealed a route back East through the Rocky Mountains—a route that would later be used by the Northern Pacific Railroad.

Of Sacajawea, Clark wrote that she “deserved a greater reward for her attention and services on that route than we had in our power to give her.” Clark went on to adopt both of Sacajawea’s children after her reported death in 1812.

Goodacre’s Sacajawea Design—Meet the Model
In creating her design for the original Sacajawea Dollar, Goodacre wanted to ensure the authenticity of Sacajawea’s features. And so she asked Randy’L He-Down Teton, a member of the Shoshone tribe, to serve as her model and inspiration.

Teton participated in many national events paying homage to the circulating Sacajawea design and spoke as a motivational speaker encouraging Native American education. She continues to be an active member of her tribe, making public appearances to bring attention to American Indian and Alaska Native issues. As Teton states: “The image doesn’t represent me; it represents all Native American women. All women have the dignity of the Golden Dollar’s image.”

“In 1998, when I first met Glenna Goodacre at her Santa Fe studio, she had a warm vibe, and I knew that we were destined to meet. Everything about the connection of the Sacajawea coin project worked out in our favor.  The Sacajawea coin is one of her best-created works of art, and I am honored and humbled to have had worked with her on this historical project. Together, we captured the spirit of Sacajawea’s strength and grace as seen on the coin.”

20th Anniversary Goodacre Sacajawea Alternate Design
The Sacajawea Golden Dollar is a classic, powerful design. But it is only one of several designs created by Goodacre.

Released for the series’ 20th anniversary, the 2020 Goodacre Sacajawea Alternate Design Dollar Proof displays one of the designs that Goodacre created and released as a sketch but did not formally submit to the U.S. Mint for consideration: an image of Sacajawea with her arm raised, showing Lewis & Clark the way West. The obverse features the Shoshone Bannock Tribe’s name along with the denomination, precious metal contents and purity.

Struck in a full ounce of 99.99% pure gold or 99.9% fine silver, each commemorative proof is official Shoshone Nation legal tender and comes officially approved and licensed through the Smithsonian®, where many of Goodacre’s original sketches are held.

Meet the Sculptor
In 1987, Mr. Anthony began assisting artist Glenna Goodacre at her Santa Fe studio. Over a 30-year period together, they created some of America’s best-known larger-than-life-size bronze sculptures including collaborating on the 2000 Sacagawea U.S. Dollar. Based on his relationship and experience with Glenna, Daniel was the obvious choice to bring one of Glenna's alternative designs to life for the 2020 Anniversary Goodacre Sacajawea Alternate Design Dollar Proof.

The largest work Anthony has completed is a towering bronze tribute to Spotted Tail, the last chief of the Brule’ Sioux. He has also sculpted an over-life-size bust of Jack Jonas, Jr., champion of the handicapped and founder of the Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation and 1 ½-life-size statues of W. W. Mayo and his two sons Will and Charles who founded Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. 

Double-Sided High Relief Proofs
Thanks to modern minting technology, these special 20th-anniversary commemoratives have been struck in High Relief on both sides! To achieve this incredible level of detail, an extra-thick planchet is utilized and struck under extreme pressure.

Minted in Proof condition, these coins also feature frosty devices and mirrored fields. It’s Goodacre’s alternate design as it could never be struck for circulation. This isn’t just a beautiful “What If?” coin—it’s a real, official legal-tender piece that represents the epitome of the minter’s art!

Available Certified Flawless and FDI with Special Hand-Signed Labels
Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) is one of the world’s top third-party grading services. You can secure a One-Ounce Gold or a One-Ounce Silver 2020 20th Anniversary Goodacre Sacajawea Alternate Design Dollar High Relief Proof, graded by NGC as flawless Proof-70 Ultra Cameo (PF70 UC) condition and certified as First Day of Issue (FDI).

In addition, each coin will arrive sealed in a protective holder with a label hand-signed by Randy’L Teton, the model and inspiration for the Sacajawea design!

Exclusive Limited Release
This commemorative is a worldwide exclusive release. Only 2,020 silver and just 200 gold proofs have been authorized, with even fewer available certified as PF70 UC FDI with hand-signed labels. Secure yours before these limited mintages are gone forever!

2020 One-Ounce Gold 20th Anniversary Glenna Goodacre Sacajawea Alternate Design Dollar

• 20th Anniversary of the U.S. Sacagawea Dollar
• Goodacre Alternate Sacajawea Design
• One Ounce of Pure Gold
• 99.99% Fineness
• Proof Condition
• Double-Sided High Relief
• $50 Official Shoshone Nation Legal Tender
• Officially Licensed Through the Smithsonian
• Flawless PF70 UC Grade
• First Day of Issue (FDI) Designation
• Labels Hand-Signed by Sacajawea Model Randy’L Teton
• Only 200 Authorized
• Limited Availability

2020 One-Ounce Silver 20th Anniversary Glenna Goodacre Sacajawea Alternate Design Dollar

• 20th Anniversary of the U.S. Sacagawea Dollar
• Goodacre Alternate Sacajawea Design
• One Ounce of Fine Silver
• 99.9% Fineness
• Proof Condition
• Double-Sided High Relief
• $1 Official Shoshone Nation Legal Tender
• Officially Licensed Through the Smithsonian
• Flawless PF70 UC Grade
• First Day of Issue (FDI) Designation
• Labels Hand-Signed by Sacajawea Model Randy’L Teton
• Only 2,020 Authorized
• Limited Availability