Todd S. asks: What’s the the difference between the Type1 and Type2 Susan B. Anthony dollars?
The “S” mint mark. Only one punch existed to add the “S” mint mark to the production of proof coin dies. In the late summer of 1979 the punch broke. The punch was just about worn out anyway. Coins struck with dies that had been stamped with the old “S” punch (Type I) had a San Francisco mint mark that looked more like a blob than a letter. A new punch was hurriedly prepared at the Philadelphia Mint and working dies prepared with the new “S” punch have a clear “S” (Type II).
Unfortunately, the new punch was never prepared or annealed properly and by 1981 it too looked like a blob. And so, in 1981 another punch was prepared making two varieties similar to the 1979 proofs, a filled “S” (Type I) and a clear “S” (Type II).
Because both Type II punches were put into service toward the end of the run of proofs for their respective years, there are much smaller numbers of Type II proofs and therefore they bring higher prices when offered in the market.
