Eisenhower Dollars
Eisenhower Dollars (1971–1978)
Eisenhower's Death and the Moon Landing Produced the Political Momentum for a New Dollar
The Mint had issued no dollar coin since the Peace dollar ended in 1935. Dollar coinage resumed in 1971 because two events in 1969 converged in Congress: the death of President Dwight D. Eisenhower on March 28, 1969, which prompted proposals to honor him on a coin, and the Apollo 11 moon landing in July 1969, which provided a second theme to attach to any new dollar. Congress tied the two events together on the coin because the space program had begun under Eisenhower's administration. Representative Robert R. Casey of Texas introduced the bill linking them, and legislation passed in 1970. The authorizing act was signed by President Nixon on December 31, 1970, reportedly minutes before midnight to avoid a pocket veto as Congress adjourned. Nixon had served as Eisenhower's Vice President.1
Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro designed both sides of the coin in approximately six weeks beginning in mid-November 1970. For the obverse he was instructed to follow the basic layout of the Washington quarter, with the word placement and arrangement adapted accordingly; the resulting left-facing portrait of Eisenhower carries Gasparro's initials FG at the base of the bust truncation. Gasparro consulted with Mamie Eisenhower on the designs, and she was presented with a metallic galvano model on January 1, 1971. For the reverse Gasparro adapted the official Apollo 11 mission patch designed by astronaut Michael Collins: a bald eagle descending toward the lunar surface carrying an olive branch, with the Earth visible above and thirteen stars ringing the upper portion of the field. LIBERTY arcs above the obverse portrait, IN GOD WE TRUST and the date appear below; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and ONE DOLLAR surround the reverse.2
Clad Dollars for Circulation, Silver Dollars for Collectors, and a Share of Proof Sales for Eisenhower College
The authorizing legislation called for two versions of the coin, one for circulation and one for collectors. Copper-nickel clad coins (outer layers of 75% copper and 25% nickel bonded to a core of pure copper) were struck for circulation at Philadelphia and Denver. A 40% silver version, identical in size and design but heavier and with a different edge appearance, was struck for collectors exclusively at San Francisco and sold at a premium over face value. The silver issues came in two presentations: uncirculated coins in blue envelopes ("Blue Ikes") and Proof coins in brown boxes ("Brown Ikes"). A 1974 act of Congress directed a share of the proceeds from sales of silver Proof Eisenhower dollars to Eisenhower College in Seneca Falls, New York; the college received approximately $9 million before Rochester Institute of Technology, which had taken it over in 1979, announced its closure in 1982. The 40% silver dates run from 1971-S through 1974-S and the Bicentennial 1776-1976-S; all coins dated 1977 and 1978 are clad regardless of mintmark or finish.3
Despite being struck in quantities exceeding 100 million coins in some years, the Eisenhower dollar almost never circulated. The coin was too large and heavy for most everyday transactions, vending machines were not configured for it, and the public declined to use it. A 1976 Treasury study found a near-100% attrition rate: nearly every Eisenhower dollar removed from a bank was extracted from commerce after a single transaction rather than continuing to circulate. The coins did see genuine use in Nevada casinos, where they replaced privately issued casino tokens in slot machines and served as standard dollar chips. The casinos' demand for the large coin was the series' primary practical application through its entire eight-year run.4
The 1972 Type 2 Is the Series Key and Exists Because of a Die Accident
Philadelphia produced three distinct reverse varieties of the 1972 Eisenhower dollar, distinguishable primarily by the treatment of Earth as depicted on the Apollo 11 reverse. The Type 1 is the most common. The Type 3 became the standard design from 1973 onward. The Type 2 is the series key. It was struck inadvertently from a reverse die intended for Proof production, which carried higher relief than the circulation-issue dies. The Proof die was placed into production service alongside regular circulation dies for a brief period in 1972 before being identified and withdrawn. PCGS specialist Jaime Hernandez, noting that a circulation die of the period typically struck about 100,000 coins, estimates that fewer than 40,000 Type 2 coins survive in all grades. On the Type 2 no islands appear beneath Florida, where incuse water lines take their place. In Gem (Mint State 65 or finer) condition the Type 2 is genuinely scarce; Mint State 66 examples have brought $6,600 to $14,400 at auction since 2016. The top of that range is an NGC Mint State 66 sold by Heritage Auctions on August 22, 2022 (lot 4751).5
The Bicentennial Reverse Came From a Public Design Competition Won by a 21-Year-Old
Legislation signed in October 1973 authorized special reverse designs for the quarter, half dollar, and dollar to mark the bicentennial of independence, each carrying the dual date 1776-1976. There are no Eisenhower dollars dated 1975; coins struck that year carry either the 1974 date or the dual date 1776-1976. The reverses for all three denominations were determined by a public design competition that closed in January 1974. The dollar reverse was won by Dennis R. Williams, a 21-year-old art student, whose design depicts the Liberty Bell superimposed over the moon, connecting the independence symbolism to the space achievement that had inspired the original coin. Williams's initials appear below the bell. The Bicentennial issue came in two reverse types: Type 1 with thicker lettering and Type 2 with thinner, sharper lettering. Both types were struck in clad for circulation at Philadelphia and Denver, where combined business-strike production exceeded 200 million coins, and in clad Proof at San Francisco; the 40% silver San Francisco pieces all carry the Type 1 reverse.6
Building the Set
A type set of the Eisenhower dollar can be assembled with two coins: one clad issue representing the regular series and one 40% silver issue representing the collector strikes, with a third coin if the collector wants the Liberty Bell and moon reverse of the Bicentennial issue as well. A complete set recognizing all major date-and-mint combinations, silver and clad, Type 1 and Type 2 Bicentennial reverses, runs to approximately 32 entries by standard references. The 1972 Type 2 is the key to any complete set of business strikes and the series entry that requires the most patience in high grades. The 1971 and 1972 clad business strikes (both Philadelphia and Denver) are more difficult in Mint State than later issues because they were not included in the Mint's annual Mint Sets; they appear in the market primarily as barely circulated coins from rolls or as uncertified finds, making high-grade survivors genuinely scarce. The primary specialist reference is Bowers, Q. David, A Guide Book of Modern United States Dollar Coins (Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2016).7
Notes
- The end of Peace dollar coinage in 1935; Eisenhower's death on March 28, 1969; Apollo 11 in July 1969; Congress's reasoning that the space program had begun under Eisenhower; Representative Casey's bill linking both themes; the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970 (signed December 31, 1970) as the legislative vehicle, with the Eisenhower dollar provisions carried as Title II of a bank holding company bill; Nixon's prior service as Eisenhower's Vice President; and the circumstances of the late signing to avoid a pocket veto are from Bowers, Q. David, A Guide Book of Modern United States Dollar Coins (Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2016), Eisenhower dollar chapter.
- Gasparro's six-week design period beginning mid-November 1970; the Washington quarter layout instruction for the obverse; Gasparro's FG initials at the bust truncation; the Mamie Eisenhower consultation and galvano presentation on January 1, 1971; the Apollo 11 mission patch by astronaut Michael Collins as the reverse source; the eagle descending toward the lunar surface with olive branch and Earth visible above; thirteen stars in the upper field; the obverse and reverse legend descriptions are from Bowers, A Guide Book of Modern United States Dollar Coins, Eisenhower dollar chapter.
- The clad composition (outer layers 75% copper, 25% nickel; core pure copper) at Philadelphia and Denver for circulation; the 40% silver composition (outer 80% silver, 20% copper; core 21% silver, 79% copper; net 40% silver) at San Francisco for collectors; the Blue Ike (uncirculated, blue envelope) and Brown Ike (Proof, brown box) designations; and the silver dates running 1971-S through 1974-S and 1776-1976-S with no silver in 1977-1978 are from Bowers, A Guide Book of Modern United States Dollar Coins, Eisenhower dollar chapter. The Eisenhower College grant is from Public Law 93-441 (October 11, 1974), which tied payments to sales of the silver Proof dollars; the amounts paid are from U.S. General Accounting Office, How Funds Granted to the Eisenhower College and the Rayburn Library Were Spent (GGD-77-4, 1976). RIT announced the college's closure on July 22, 1982.
- The circulation failure; the 1976 Treasury study finding a near-100% attrition rate; the Nevada casino use as the series' primary practical application are from Bowers, A Guide Book of Modern United States Dollar Coins, Eisenhower dollar chapter.
- The three 1972 reverse varieties at Philadelphia; the Type 1 as most common; the Type 3 as the standard from 1973; and the Type 2 struck inadvertently from a Proof reverse die are from Bowers, A Guide Book of Modern United States Dollar Coins, Eisenhower dollar chapter. The Type 2 diagnostic is from NGC, "1972 Eisenhower Dollar" (ngccoin.com/news/article/812). The die-output and survival estimates are from Jaime Hernandez's expert commentary on PCGS CoinFacts, 1972 $1 Type 2 (PCGS #97409). Auction records: CoinWeek, "1972 Eisenhower Dollar: A Collector's Guide": Heritage Auctions, January 8, 2016, PCGS MS66, $9,987.50; Heritage Auctions, November 1, 2016, PCGS MS66, $7,637.50; Heritage Auctions, August 22, 2022, lot 4751, NGC MS66, $14,400; Stack's Bowers, November 21, 2024, PCGS MS66, $6,600.
- The October 1973 legislation authorizing Bicentennial reverses for the quarter, half dollar, and dollar; the absence of 1975-dated Eisenhower dollars; the public design competition closing January 1974; Dennis R. Williams as the dollar reverse winner; the Liberty Bell superimposed over the moon on the Williams reverse; his initials below the bell; and the Type 1 (thicker lettering) and Type 2 (thinner lettering) Bicentennial reverses are from Bowers, A Guide Book of Modern United States Dollar Coins, Eisenhower dollar chapter. Williams's birth date (October 26, 1952) is from his Newman Numismatic Portal authority record. The striking of 1974-dated coins into September 1975, the clad Proofs struck at San Francisco with both reverse types, and the Type 1 reverse on all silver S pieces are from David W. Lange, "USA Coin Album: Eisenhower Dollar," NGC (ngccoin.com/news/article/10728). Business-strike mintages are from A Guide Book of United States Coins (Whitman).
- The two-coin type set; the approximately 32-entry complete set; the 1972 Type 2 as the key; the difficulty of the 1971 and 1972 clad business strikes in Mint State due to their absence from Mint Sets; and the primary reference are from Bowers, Q. David, A Guide Book of Modern United States Dollar Coins (Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2016).
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