| United States | |
| Value | 1.00 U.S. dollars |
|---|---|
| Mass | 22.68 g |
| Diameter | 38.1 mm |
| Thickness | 2.58 mm |
| Edge | reeded |
| Composition | Outer Layers: 75.0% Cu, 25.0% Ni Core: 100% Cu |
| Years of minting | 1971–1978 |
| Catalog number | km203 |
| Obverse | |
| Design | General/President Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Designer | Frank Gasparro |
| Design date | 1971 |
| Reverse | |
| Design | Based on the Apollo 11 Mission Insignia |
| Designer | Frank Gasparro |
| Design date | 1971 |
The Eisenhower dollar is a $1 coin issued by the United States government from 1971–1978 (not to be confused with the Eisenhower commemorative dollar of 1990, or the Presidential $1 Coin Program, which will feature Eisenhower in 2015). The Eisenhower dollar followed the Peace dollar and is named for General of the Army and President Dwight David Eisenhower, who appears on the obverse. Both the obverse and the reverse of the coin were designed by Frank Gasparro.
The Eisenhower dollar was the last dollar coin to contain a proportional amount of base metal to lower denominations; it has the same amount of copper-nickel as two Kennedy half dollars, four Washington quarters, or ten Roosevelt dimes. Because of this it was a heavy and somewhat inconvenient coin. It was often saved as a memento of Eisenhower and never saw much circulation outside of casinos.[1] This led to its short time in circulation and its replacement by the smaller, but even less popular, Susan B. Anthony dollar in 1979.
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The Eisenhower dollar was struck with a copper-nickel composition for circulation and was the first United States dollar coin to not be struck in a precious metal. While the circulated copper-nickel coins contained no silver, they were often incorrectly referred to as "silver dollars" by the general public. The only Eisenhower dollars to actually contain silver came from special collectors' issues struck at the San Francisco Mint in a silver-copper composition, the same as the 1965-70 Kennedy half dollar.
Copper-nickel issues:
Silver-copper issues (silver clad):
Eisenhower dollars were struck to commemorate Dwight D. Eisenhower, who died in 1969, and the Apollo 11 moon landing of the same year. It was annually minted for only eight years. Special Bicentennial issues were minted in 1975 and 1976.
The reverse design was recycled (in shrunken form) for the Susan B. Anthony dollar in 1979 and remained on the dollar coin until 1999, when that dollar was replaced by the Sacagawea dollar in 2000, which did not continue the design.
Although once considered a marginal set to collect, Eisenhower dollars have significantly gained in popularity with collectors in recent years. In part, this is due to the large size of the coin and the fact that Morgan "silver" dollars went out of production in 1921 - a set that is extremely expensive to complete in high grades. Conversely, complete sets of high-grade Eisenhower dollars can be obtained for a modest price.
Mintmarks appear above the third and fourth numbers in the date under Eisenhower's neck. Mintmarks include:
Business Strikes:
Uncirculated Silver:
Proof:
Special reverses were added to all quarter dollar, half dollar, and dollar coins minted in 1975 and 1976 to celebrate the bicentennial of America's independence. In addition, the date was shown as 1776-1976 for the quarters, half dollars, and dollars minted in 1975 and 1976. There are no 1975 dated quarters, halves, or dollars.
The reverse of the Eisenhower dollar was designed by Dennis R. Williams and shows the Liberty Bell in front of the moon. His initials appear to the right below the Bell.
Some Eisenhower dollars were minted in a 40% silver clad to be sold to collectors. All of these coins were minted at the San Francisco Mint, with dates 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1776-1976. (By error, very small numbers of 1974-D, 1976-D, and 1977-D silver clad coins were minted and released to circulation.) The San Francisco silver clad coins were either uncirculated or proof. For the first four years uncirculated coins came in cellophane with a blue plastic token in a blue envelope, while proof issues came in a proof set-like plastic case, contained in a brown "wood grain finish" slipcase box with a gold seal on the back. The uncirculated coins are referred to as 'Blue Ikes' and the proofs as 'Brown Ikes'. Coins minted in 1975 and 1976, all dated 1776-1976 for the Bicentennial, come in other packaging with the similarly dated quarter and half dollar of that brief series. The uncirculated coins, available in a red envelope, were sold by the Mint for $3. Proof versions, in a blue slipcase, cost $10. No silver clad issues were packaged by the Mint in 1977 or 1978.
In the first two years of production there was considerable experimentation as dies were reworked to try to give clearer strikes. Recognized as three separate varieties are the 1972 Philadelphia issues in which on the reverse the Earth became more rounded and the islands south of Florida were shifted progressively west.[3] The second variety, using a proof die to give a higher relief, is the scarcest.
Two varieties of the Bicentennial dollar were produced and can be distinguished by the type of font used for the lettering on the reverse. The Type I is a sans-serif font (thick reverse letters), while the Type II uses a serif font (thin reverse letters). Type I was used for all silver clad proof and mint sets (3-piece sets sold with the Bicentennial quarter and half), and the regular (6-coin copper-nickel clad) 1975 proof and uncirculated sets. Type II is in the regular 1976 proof and uncirculated sets. Both varieties were used for business strikes, with the Type II version being more common. [4]
Eisenhower dollars did not appear in the 1971 and 1972 mint and proof sets. The only Ikes available to collectors from the Mint with these dates were the silver clad uncirculated and proof issues. Copper-nickel clad issues had to be obtained directly from circulation. Very high grade examples thus tend to be somewhat more expensive than those of later years.[5]
On the other hand, 1973 copper-nickel clad Ikes were limited to the uncirculated and proof sets of that year; none were released for general circulation.
All following dates of this series in copper-nickel were available both in uncirculated and proof sets from the Mint.
| Preceded by Peace Dollar |
Dollar Coin of the United States 1971–1978 |
Succeeded by Susan B. Anthony Dollar |
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