USA Coin Album: Golden Anniversary of the Eisenhower Dollar — Part 3

As noted in last month’s installment, the circulating edition of the Eisenhower dollar was a rather disappointing coin upon its debut in 1971. Most examples were lacking sharp details from a combination of die erosion and incomplete striking. This is evident in viewing the figures in the NGC Price Guide. The values given advance rapidly with each successive Mint State grade, the 1971(P) dollar being particularly rare and expensive above the MS 65 level.

Indeed, NGC has certified only 63 examples as MS 66 and none finer. In contrast, the 1971-D dollar reflects the generally higher quality of Denver Mint coins at that time, with NGC having certified 954 examples as MS 66, 94 as MS 67 and just two coins at the MS 68 level.

Another deficiency that plagued the early Ike dollars was poor definition in the actual master hubs used for circulation strikes and the 1971-S Uncirculated edition. By the time striking of the 1971-S proof coins commenced the Philadelphia Mint’s engraving department had become aware of these deficiencies and had created improved hubs for the proofs. These higher relief hubs were utilized in creating dies for the 1972-S silver Uncirculated and Proof coins, but all of the currency strikes for that year reveal the same low relief used in 1971. A few 1971-S proofs were struck in error using reverse dies taken from the low relief hub, and these are quite scarce.

This rare 1971-S proof dollar has the low relief, Type 1 reverse with no outline to the crater above LL of DOLLAR. Click images to enlarge

While the majority of 1972(P) dollars are indeed coined with dies taken from the original hubs, examples are known displaying two different modified reverse hubs. These three reverse hubs have been labeled Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3, respectively. Type 1 is the most common, Type 3 is a bit scarce, while Type 2 is the most highly sought and brings a premium price. The different reverse hubs are most easily spotted by the details of the Caribbean Islands and the Moon crater appearing above the letters LL of DOLLAR. Rather than attempt to describe these distinctions in words, I’ll refer readers to NGC’s VarietyPlus® page on Eisenhower dollars.

1972(P) Ike dollars may be found with one of three reverse hubs. Type 2 is the most desirable. Click images to enlarge

Some lesser differences have been noted for the obverse of early Ike dollars, particularly with respect to the letter R in LIBERTY. This area was highly subject to the die becoming overpolished, with the result that the base of the R was diminished into the “Peg Leg” die state illustrated at NGC’s VarietyPlus®. While somewhat popular, this phenomenon is pretty common, especially on 1971-dated coins. Another popular variety is seen on some 1971-D dollars. Called the “Friendly Eagle,” these coins lack the heavy brow line above the eagle’s eye.

A popular variety of the 1971-D Eisenhower dollar features the “Friendly Eagle” (left) that lacks the furrowed brow seen on most of that issue. Click images to enlarge

After two years of mass production it had become evident to everyone that the Eisenhower dollar was not going to gain wide acceptance outside of gambling casinos. People didn’t like these heavy coins in their purses or pockets any more than they’d liked the old silver dollars. As a consequence the US Mint did not strike Ikes for general circulation in 1973, though it did make copper-nickel-clad coins solely for its Uncirculated Sets. This was the first year in which dollar coins had been included in these sets, but their set-only status had not been announced in advance of the ordering period, so sales were somewhat lower than one might expect (in 1987 it was announced ahead of time that half dollars would be available only through the sets, and sales soared that year).

Those lucky collectors who had ordered one or more of the 1,767,691 Uncirculated Sets sold in 1973 were delighted to receive items that immediately were worth more than their issue price of $6 each. They also were surprised to see that the dollar coin had undergone a tune-up, both obverse and reverse hubs being much sharper than in previous years. In fact, the Type 3 reverse seen briefly in 1972 was utilized for all three mints in 1973, and it was paired with a new obverse displaying crisper details. This pairing of hubs would be used for all remaining Eisenhower dollars, aside from the 1976-dated Bicentennial editions. I’ll take a look at that special coinage in next month’s installment.

The dollars dated 1973-74 and 1977-78 were coined using dies from the improved obverse and reverse hubs and look much sharper than earlier issues. Click images to enlarge