2012 Native American Dollars

Appearing as the fourth release in a series of annually changing reverse designs is the 2012 Native American $1 Coin. One can actually trace the series back to the year 2000 when the Sacagawea Dollar first appeared, however, the annually changing reverse designs only began in 2009.

Congress dictated the changing reverses of the coin with the passage of the Native American $1 Coin Act(Public Law 110-82). This Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush on Sept. 20, 2007 with the first strikes of the new series appearing two years later.

That 2009 Native American Coin showcased a Native American woman planting seeds in a field of corn, beans and squash. At its introduction, United States Mint Director Ed Moy said "With this coin, we hope to educate Americans, as the museum does, on how Native Americans helped make this country the premier food producer in the world."

In 2010, the coin showed a Hiawatha Belt with five arrows bound together and the additional inscriptions HAUDENOSAUNEE and GREAT LAW OF PEACE emblematic of the Iroquois Confederacy. Moy explains the choice of the design with "the design is an acknowledgement of the confederation's influence on Western political thought, including concepts of equality and democratic self-government that existed on the North American continent long before the founding of the United States."

2011 saw the Native American Coin with two hands exchanging the peace pipe representative of Supreme Sachem Ousamequin Massasoit and Governor John Carver after signing the first formal written peace alliance between the Wampanoag tribe and the European settlers. At its introduction, B. B. Craig, United States Mint Associate Director of Sales and Marketing said "the 2011 Native American $1 Coin celebrates the Wampanoag Treaty of 1621 that later led the English colonists and Massosoit and his men to join in a first harvest feast."

The newest 2012 strike shows the profile of a Native American with his horse. Additional horses are shown running behind emblematic of the trade routes used by Native Americans in the 17th Century. It was designed by Thomas Cleveland and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill

All of these strikes showcased the same obverse portrait of the young Shoshone woman Sacagawea as seen on the coins since 2000. Sacagawea was the guide who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition through the frontiers of the United States from 1804-1806. Glenna Goodacre designed the portrait.

Native American Dollar Specifications

Mintmark: D, and P for circulation versions and S for proof
Finish/Condition: Circulated, Proof
Composition: 88.5% copper, 6% zinc, 3.5% manganese, 2% nickel (manganese-brass)
Weight: 8.1 grams
Diameter: 26.5 mm or 1.043 inches
Edge: lettering
Date of Issue: TBD
Mintages: Based on Demand
Obverse Designer/Sculptor: Glenna Goodacre
Reverse Designer/Engraver: Thomas Cleveland / Phebe Hemphill

Native American $1 Coin Resources

• US Mint Native American Dollars
• Native American $1 Coin Act