The coin features an obverse designed by Glenna Goodacre of Sacagawea, the Shoshone guide of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, carrying her child.

The coin was introduced as a replacement for the Susan B. Anthony dollar, which proved useful for vending machine operators and mass transit systems despite being unpopular with the public.

In 2012, mintage numbers were reduced by over 90%, in line with a similar reduction for the even less popular Presidential Dollars, because of large stockpiles of unused coins from that series.

[3] On September 26, 1978, Congress approved legislation to provide for a smaller dollar coin to be minted, which would depict Susan B. Anthony, a prominent American suffragette.

[3] Since there was little interest in the coin as a circulating medium, most were placed in United States Mint and Federal Reserve vaults throughout the country, and mintage ceased after 1981.

Four months later, on July 24, Republican Representative Michael Castle of Delaware, a member of the House Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, also introduced legislation, calling for the Statue of Liberty to be the subject of the design.

[5] On October 21, Minnesota Republican Rod Grams introduced a bill in the Senate, also calling for the mintage of a newly designed dollar coin.

[5] Also on October 21, in a hearing before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology, Treasury Department officials gave their support for a new dollar coin, recommending that it be gold-colored with a distinctive edge, to make it easily distinguishable from the quarter-dollar.

[9] They met in Philadelphia in June 1998, listening to seventeen concepts submitted by members of the public, and reviewing many more suggestions received by telephone, mail and email.

[7] In a letter to the House of Representatives, Castle explained his objection, stating that the "goal in creating a new dollar coin is to make it more distinctive with a popular design that would encourage its wider use by the public.

[7] Another guideline requested artists "be sensitive to cultural authenticity, and try to avoid creating a representation of a classical European face in Native American headdress.

[7] In response to the large amount of feedback generated, Diehl stated that the internet has "allowed us to conduct a public outreach program of unprecedented scope to measure opinions of the designs.

Goodacre chose Randy'L He-dow Teton to model for Sacagawea, of whom there are no known contemporary portraits, to help the artist capture the features of a young Native American woman.

[13] The first coin in the Native American series, issued in 2009, was designed by Mint sculptor-engraver Norman E. Nemeth, the subject being the spread of Three Sisters Agriculture.

[15] The reverse of the 2011 dollar depicts the hands of the Supreme Sachem Ousamequin and Plymouth Colony Governor John Carver holding a ceremonial pipe, along with the inscriptions "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA", "$1", and "WAMPANOAG TREATY 1621".

[19] The 2014 dollar depicts a Native American man clasping a ceremonial pipe while his wife holds a plate of provisions, including fish, corn, roots and gourds.

[22] The reverse design selected for use on the 2016 coin, according to an August 29, 2014, U.S. Mint press release, commemorates Code talkers from World Wars I and II.

[25] The 2020 dollar design commemorates the 75th anniversary of Alaska's Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945 and features the image of Alaskan civil rights advocate and member of the Tlingit Nation Elizabeth Peratrovich.

[29] The 2023 dollar's reverse was announced in 2018 as set to honor Charles Alexander Eastman[30] but the actual 2023 coin as issued features the prima ballerina Maria Tallchief and the Five Moons.

In his original proposal, mountainous scenery was depicted beneath the flying eagle; this was removed and the positions of other reverse design features were altered before Rubin gave final approval.

[4] This composition was chosen because it would give the coin a distinctive golden color while being electromagnetically identical to its predecessor, the copper-nickel Susan B. Anthony dollar.

[36] The first official striking of the Sacagawea dollar took place on November 18, 1999, during a ceremony in which dignitaries and other invited guests each struck individual examples of the coins.

[40] The television ads consisted of the head of George Washington superimposed upon a body, voiced by actor Michael Keaton, discussing the merits of the new dollar coin.

[44] It was later discovered, and confirmed in 2005,[45] that the dollars included in every 2,000 boxes were in fact early strikes, differing from those ultimately issued for circulation by the number of tail feathers on the eagle.

[49] Following the return of the shuttle, the coins were placed in storage at Fort Knox, where they remained until 2007, when they were exhibited at the American Numismatic Association World's Fair of Money in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

[51] A subsequent federal investigation into the incident found that the error coins had been struck accidentally, but two former Mint employees were guilty of selling some of the dollars, resulting in imprisonment and fines for both individuals.

[52] As of August 2011, eight of the eleven error coins, including the one initially discovered in Arkansas, are owned by a New Mexico collector who purchased them between 2000 and 2003, paying as high as $75,000 for a single specimen.

In an interview with Associated Press columnist Suzanne Gamboa, Republican Senator Phil Gramm of Texas described United States currency as "crummy".

"[55] He also noted his belief that the Mint had repeated the earlier mistakes of the Susan B. Anthony dollar by issuing a coin that was tailored to the requests of the vending machine industry rather than the average consumer.

"[55] Senators Mike DeWine of Ohio and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Republican and Democrat respectively, praised the design and the distinctiveness of the golden color.