Of course there are two other factors that don't help:
a) Previous dollar coin designs have been ugly and filled with misguided feminism (I still don't know and don't care who Susan B Anthony was, and I only know Sacagawea from The Simpsons), and
b) Previous dollar coin designs have been damn near indistinguishable from quarters by feel. Make 'em bigger or thicker or give 'em flattened edges or a hole in the middle or something! Preferably all of the above so you can look at it and say "Wow, that sure looks like a dollar's worth!"