Ike Dollars- What Is The Value?

What's needed here is a nice, LONG post by cladking. I hope he finds this topic. You mentioned the rarity of Ikes in terms of varieties, errors, etc. This is true, but top graded business strike Ikes are the rarities that command the highest premiums, generally. For me, something that is truly rare is not seen on the market often- something that takes a long time to locate through diligent hunting. In my opinion, the top rarities are the 1971-S proof DDR FS-801, the 1971-S silver business strike in MS68 (rare in this grade, not the issue itself) and the 1971-S proof Nightcrawler variety (DIVa 1S2-401). Of the 6,868,530 million 71-S silver business Ikes minted, only 4 have been graded MS68 by PCGS, and only one has achieved this near impossible grade by NGC. That's FIVE total between the top two TPGs! There are approximately 25-30 Nightcrawlers known, of which I am the owner of three. The FS-801 will probably forever remain an impossible coin for me to obtain, not just because of the price, but because they hardly ever come up for sale. It's usually YEARS between sales of this variety. An FS-801 in PR69DCAM (PCGS) sold on Great Collections back in 2015 for $13,750.00!

Are Ikes in demand? Well, people do want them, for sure. They just don't want to PAY up for them. I'm speaking of raw circulated and/or uncirculated Ikes. Look up completed/sold auctions for raw Ikes on ebay and completed sales on Great Collections, Inc. They are selling with no problem. They just aren't commanding high prices right now. That's good for Ike collectors like me. The PQ Ikes are there for the taking at great prices. Certain business issues in MS66 used to be too expensive for me, but not anymore. The prices have softened quite a bit. This could be due to a drop in interest, an increase in MS66 specimens coming to market, or a combination of both. I haven't checked to see how the population reports for Ikes has changed within the last 2 or 3 years.

Then there are those legendary Ike dollar discoveries that I dream about.....

I feel they are undervalued, but I do admit bias.

I think the circulation strike Ikes are rather pedestrian and not that interesting, except for the size. My favorites are the silver uncirculated (blue Ikes). I have started to ask for "big" dollars at the bank every time I go and sometimes I get a roll or a couple singles. I like to carry one around in my pocket and leave it for tips. They are nice conversation pieces with someone unfamiliar with the "big" dollars. But since I spend them for a dollar, I am only willing to pay a dollar to get them also, except for the blue Ikes. Another bonus to asking for "big" dollars at the bank is that I have also gotten a Morgan dollar and a Peace dollar mixed in with Ikes in the past year (that's a nice bonus). It pays to ask all the time. Besides, the bank tellers love me because I take all of the odd money off their hands.

Except when you get nicely struck ones in the higher grades. They are more challenging to find than more common well struck blue and brown Ikes.

https://www.PCGS.com/setregistry/do...meset/107351

Top coin in this registry set has an example.

The wholesale price on common BU's is at $2.50

It's hard to know what lower grades are worth but they made countless millions and there's no indication they've melted any of them.

Higher grades tend to be grossly undervalued unless they are ultra-high grade. Better dates might be undervalued and this especially applies to the '76 type I.

I believe the "sweet spot" is MS-64 to MS-66. These are often available for a pittance but some are extremely scarce.

While circs might be a lot of fun they are probably to be avoided unless they are something special.

I prefer all my clad in nice gemmy MS-64 or better condition.

A lot of Ikes are can be had in MS-65 because they are "common" enough to outstrip the weak demand. Buying Ikes in one grade lower than the point at which they become expensive is a great way to get into these for a very low cost.

I didn't even collect Ikes until 1978 because I mistakenly believed they didn't exist in Gem. Then one day I saw a nice Gem 1977 and it was off to the races. Actually they all come in Gem though some are exceedingly rare in true Gem. It was a lot of cost and hard work to get a Gem of any date but now you can pick these up for only 10 or $20 in some cases. Look for nice clean coins well struck by new dies. I've seen a few in slabs that exist only because the submitter expected a higher grade. When they are "out of the money" they can be very cheap and still quite scarce.