Rolls, bags and boxes of the 2021 Native American $1 Coins are now available from the United States Mint. Released today at noon EST, each product holds circulation quality dollars featuring a one-year-only design honoring the service of American Indians in the U.S. military.
These coins continue the U.S. Mint’s Native American $1 Coin Program which dates back to 2009. The series offers annually changing reverses that celebrate the important contributions made by Indian tribes and individual Native Americans to the history and development of the United States.
2021 Native American Dollar Coin Designs
Emblematic of Native Americans in the U.S. military, reverses (tails side) for this year’s dollar depict eagle feathers, which were traditionally earned in battle or by performing a brave deed.
"Eagle feathers are revered, worthy of the utmost care and handling, and are to be displayed proudly in homes," the Mint relates.
Stars representing the five branches of the U.S. military appear in the foreground, and a circle represents additional significance to Native Americans. These elements are surrounded by inscriptions of NATIVE AMERICANS – DISTINGUISHED MILITARY SERVICE SINCE 1775, $1 and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
This design was selected from among a total of 17 candidates. U.S. Mint Artistic Infusion Program Artist Donna Weaver created it while Chief Engraver Joseph Menna completed its sculpting.
Like for all dollars in the multi-year series, obverses (heads side) offer the traditional likeness of Sacagawea carrying her infant son, Jean Baptiste. The portrait was designed by Glenna Goodacre. Obverse inscriptions read LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST.
An edge-incused inscription contains the year, the mint mark, and E PLURIBUS UNUM.
Native American $1 Coin Specifications
| Denomination: | $1 Coin |
| Composition: | 6% Zinc, 3.5% Manganese, 2% Nickel, Balance Copper |
| Weight: | 8.100 grams |
| Diameter: | 1.043 inches (26.49 mm) |
| Edge: | Lettered |
| Mint and Mint Mark: | Philadelphia – P Denver – D |
Prices for the Rolls, Bags and Boxes
2021 Native American $1 Coin products include the following options:
| PRODUCT OPTION | PRICE |
| 25-Coin Roll – P | $34.50 |
| 25-Coin Roll – D | $34.50 |
| 100-Coin Bag – P | $117.50 |
| 100-Coin Bag – D | $117.50 |
| 250-Coin Box – P | $289.75 |
| 250-Coin Box – D | $289.75 |
‘P’ indicates the coin’s were struck at the Philadelphia Mint with a ‘D’ indicating the Denver Mint.
Ordering
2021 Native American $1 Coins may be ordered directly from the U.S. Mint by visiting its online catalog page for Native American dollars. No mintage, product or household limits are in place.
Past Native American $1 Coins and Mintages
Authorized under under Public Law 110-82, previous dollars focused on the following themes:
- 2009 – Three Sisters Agriculture
- 2010 – Great Tree of Peace and the Iroquois Confederacy
- 2011 – Great Wampanoag Nation
- 2012 – Trade Routes
- 2013 – Treaty with the Delawares
- 2014 – Native Hospitality Ensured the Success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
- 2015 – Contributions of the Kahnawake Mohawk and Mohawk Akwesasne communities to “high iron” construction work
- 2016 – Contributions of the Native American Code Talkers in World War I and World War II
- 2017 – Sequoyah, inventor of the Cherokee Syllabary
- 2018 – Sports legend Jim Thorpe, a member of the Sac and Fox tribe
- 2019 – Mary Golda Ross, the first known Native American female engineer, and a space-walking astronaut symbolic of Native American astronauts
- 2020 – Elizabeth Peratrovich and Alaska’s 1945 Anti-Discrimination Law
Since 2012, dollar coins have not been produced for circulation but only for sale in numismatic products such as these rolls, bags and boxes. As such, their mintages saw a drastic decline that year as shown in the table below:
| Denver Mint | Philadelphia Mint | Total Mintages | |
| 2009 | 33.88 M | 37.88 M | 71.26 M |
| 2010 | 48.72 M | 32.06 M | 80.78 M |
| 2011 | 48.16 M | 29.40 M | 77.56 M |
| 2012 | 3.08 M | 2.80 M | 5.88 M |
| 2013 | 1.82 M | 1.82 M | 3.64 M |
| 2014 | 2.80 M | 3.08 M | 5.88 M |
| 2015 | 2.24 M | 2.80 M | 5.04 M |
| 2016 | 2.10 M | 2.80 M | 4.09 M |
| 2017 | 1.54 M | 1.82 M | 3.36 M |
| 2018 | 1.40 M | 1.40 M | 2.80 M |
| 2019 | 1.54 M | 1.40 M | 2.94 M |
| 2020 | 1.26 M | 1.40 M | 2.66 M |
| 2021* | 1.26 M | 1.26 M | 2.52 M |
*In January of each year, the U.S. Mint tends to strike Native American dollars to the expected amounts needed for the entire year.
I feel that the whole series is exceptional artistically – and I learned a lot from them!