( Cet article sera bientôt traduit. )
The 1980 film 9 to 5 is about more than three women trying to get a fair shake at work. It captures a larger idea: women’s equality and workers’ rights. Released as society was transitioning out of the 1970s and moving into the 1980s, the film also captures the hopes and struggles of the women’s liberation movement.
The women’s liberation movement crescendoed in the United States during the early and mid-1970s as various laws aimed to expand rights for women were passed at a national level. Many could argue the women’s liberation movement effectively drew to a close in 1982 when the nation failed to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was first proposed in 1923 and approved by Congress in 1972 but ultimately given only a decade for ratification by a minimum of 38 states. Many of the aims promised in the ERA have come to pass through judicial decisions, courtroom challenges, and changing societal norms.
Yet, in 1980, when 9 to 5 was released, women in the United States were still dealing with a barrage of issues ranging from rampant harassment in the workplace to demeaning roles and double standards both at work and at home. These and many other social ills were among the many issues tackled in 9 to 5, which stars Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda as three coworkers who band together to give their boss (played by Dabney Coleman) a taste of his own medicine.
After Parton passed away on August 25, 2026, at the age of 80, many called for September 25 to be known as 9 to 5 Day. The holiday recognizes the societal value of Parton’s debut film, which was released on December 19, 1980, as a socially conscious comedy but takes on a transformative double role as a call to action for women’s equality and better workplace conditions for all. It also honors Parton’s iconic acting and extensive musical legacy, which intersect with her smash hit song “9 to 5” – the film’s country-disco theme she wrote and performed and which hit the top of the Billboard charts in 1981.
So, how can you numismatically pay homage to 9 to 5 Day? There’s a coin that seems to fit the bill perfectly: the 1980 Susan B. Anthony Dollar. Released when the film 9 to 5 was luring millions to the silver screen, this cupro-nickel clad coin celebrates one of the nation’s most prominent women’s suffrage leaders and social activists. Anthony’s appearance on the so-called “mini dollar” in 1979 marked the first time an historic woman had appeared on a regularly circulating U.S. coin.
Even though the Susan B. Anthony Dollar failed to gain widespread acceptance – in many ways drawing a few loose parallels with the fate of the Equal Rights Amendment – it lives on to represent an important moment in the hope for women’s equality and in America’s history. There are many opportunities to add a 1980 Susan B. Anthony Dollar in the PCGS Set Registry, including various categories for building sets of “Susie B’s,” which were struck from 1979 through 1981 and once more in 1999 and offer a surprisingly number of varieties and conditional rarities.