Profile of Sacagawea with her infant son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau being carried on her back.

Sacagawea (1788-1812) was a Lemhi Shoshone woman who helped the Lewis and Clark Expedition achieve each of its chartered mission objectives exploring the Louisiana Purchase. With the expedition, between 1804 and 1806, she traveled thousands of miles from North Dakota to the Pacific Ocean, established cultural contacts with Native American populations, and researched natural history.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States, departing in May 1804, from near St. Louis making their way westward through the continental divide to the Pacific coast.

Engraver: Glenna Goodacre (GG)

The reverse design commemorates the Delaware Treaty of 1778 and features a turkey, howling wolf, and turtle (all symbols of the clans of the Delaware Tribe), and a ring of 13 stars to represent the Colonies.

After declaring independence, the United States signed its first formal treaty with an Indian tribe, the Delaware, at Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh, Pa.) on September 17, 1778. The mutual defense treaty allowed American troops to pass through the Delaware Tribe’s land to attack the British fort at Detroit, Mich. Under the treaty, the United States recognized the Delaware Nation’s sovereignty. The treaty also offered significant insight into the later process of incorporating tribes into the federal system.

Designer: Susan Gamble (SG)
Engraver: Phebe Hemphill (PH)

Inscribed along the edge of the coin is the year of minting or issuance of the coin, the mint mark, and also the legend "E Pluribus Unum" (Latin for "Out of many, one").

Position A: edge lettering reads upside-down when Sacagawea's portrait (obverse) faces up.
Position B: edge lettering reads normally when Sacagawea's portrait (obverse) faces up.