A relief portrait of Sacagawea is one of many coin design choices

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Mint is seeking input from the public via the Internet before it selects the final design for a new dollar coin.

The Mint has already received 60,000 e-mails about the coin -- which will feature an image of the Shoshone Indian woman Sacagawea -- and it will begin processing the comments on Thursday.

The Mint decided to post the final designs on the Internet to get as much public input about them as possible, said Mint Director Philip Diehl.

He said that the Mint hopes to avoid the cool reception the public gave the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin, which received little public input about its design before it was minted.

The front side of the new coin will show an image of Sacagawea, who accompanied the explorers Meriweather Lewis and William Clark on their historic expedition to the Northwest, while the reverse side will have an image of an eagle.

The Mint Web site gives six versions of both sides of the coin -- Sacagawea on one side and an eagle on the other -- and invites people to choose their favorites and offer comments.

The Mint invited 23 artists to submit designs for the new coin, asking them to avoid the stereotypical, European version of an Indian: a classical European face in a feathered headdress.

The final images were selected by representatives of the Native American community, artists, educators, historians, members of Congress and U.S. Mint employees.

The new coin will be gold-colored. It will be the same size as the Susan B. Anthony dollar to accommodate vending machines.

Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin will make the final decision on the design for the new coin in January and it is expected to be available in early 2000.