1976 - D Eisenhower - Silver? - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 1,140
Michelle K Valued Member United States 80 Posts	Posted 09/25/2008 9:41 pm Hello everyone, I just bought a 'Eisenhower silver dollar', but when I received it, it was a Denver mint, not a San Francisco mint. Supposedly there are a few silver Denvers minted but I suppose they would be considered an error and can't find any good information on them. Could this coin be an error? How can I tell for sure? If it is a 'silver' coin then it would only be 40% - silver clad. Is there a way I can look at it, weigh it, etc. to tell for sure that this is not a true silver coin? Thanks! Report this Post to the Staff

DNA Pillar of the Community United States 2734 Posts	Posted 09/26/2008 12:12 am The "cupro-nickel" (copper-nickel) Ike's weigh 22.7 grams and the 40% silver-clad Ike's weigh 24.6 grams. The reeded edge on the 40% silver Ike will look very 'silver' when compared side-by-side with a cupro-nickel Ike. I found a few 40% silver Ike's from circulation as a kid! I didn't even notice that they were "S" mint at the time, I just looked at the edge and I could tell right away that they were 'silver'. Since known D-mint 40% Ike "errors" exist, if that is indeed what you have, you might have something special there! Report this Post to the Staff
Elimist Pillar of the Community United States 632 Posts	Posted 09/26/2008 01:09 am If you look at the reeded side of the coin, you should be able to tell right away. If theres any copper band then....I think you know. I'm not an IKE expert at all but to my knowledge silver IKE's were only minted in 40% silver and not for ciculation. They where minted only for special sets and I'm pretty sure only by the san-francisco mint. I've never heard of an intentionally struck silver IKE from the D or P mint, but I have been proven wrong before on this forum. In my experience with non-collectors there is a lot of ignorance about even basic coins out there. IKE's are mis-represented as silver dollars all the time, when the last silver dollar minted for circulation was the Peace dollar in the 20's and 30's. I really hope you didn't get seriously skunked on this one. Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 187446 Posts	Posted 09/26/2008 11:01 am The 40% silver Eisenhower dollars are still clad. The copper band on them contains 21% silver, so it will appear more gray than brown. Quote: In my experience with non-collectors there is a lot of ignorance about even basic coins out there. IKE's are mis-represented as silver dollars all the time It would not be surprised if the person that sold it to you just did not know the difference. Weighing the coin is your best option. Comparing it to a known 40% silver and known CU-Ni clad Eisenhower dollar will work. In my opinion, the difference is readily apparent when viewed in context. Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
DNA Pillar of the Community United States 2734 Posts	Posted 09/26/2008 12:21 pm Quote: "IKE's are mis-represented as 'silver dollars' all the time." A lot of the general public calls all Ikes 'silver dollars', not so much an intentional mis-representation but as a slang 'type' description. The facts that the Ike is the same size as the previous 'true' (90%) silver dollars, and add to that the existence of 40% silver Ikes, and it's no wonder that they would be called 'silver dollars' as a slang term (Ikes have been called 'silver dollars' since the 70's). I think that the mistaken assumption that business strike Ikes were 'silver dollars' is what caused all the Ike hoarding back in the pre-Internet 70's and 80's days, but now Ikes are saved because they're no longer in circulation! There might even be some people out there today who still think that circulation Ikes have silver in them Edited by DNA 09/26/2008 12:22 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Jays-Dad Pillar of the Community United States 790 Posts	Posted 09/26/2008 12:41 pm Well, my kid believed that Presidential dollars were actually made of gold so....we'll have to understand the silver mistake. Report this Post to the Staff
Michelle K Valued Member United States 80 Posts	Posted 09/26/2008 9:24 pm Thanks everyone for your help! It is not silver, but I didn't get taken too badly. It looks BU or AU, but has many bag marks. It does have the luster of a BU coin though. I also really like the 1776/1976 design on the back. Being a science teacher, I really like the reference to the Apollo mission. So somewhat dissappointed. Hopefully an honest mistake. Thanks again! Report this Post to the Staff
DNA Pillar of the Community United States 2734 Posts	Posted 09/26/2008 11:07 pm I just got back from shopping at some antique malls. In one case was a stack of about 40 " Eisenhower dollars 1971-78 Circulated, $1.50 each", to their right were six Blue Ikes "Eisenhower Silver Dollars 1971-73 Uncirculated in Mint packaging, $7.50 each" A helpful sign between the two explained that " Eisenhower dollars minted for circulation are made of copper-nickel alloy, and 'uncirculated' Eisenhower dollars minted for collectors are made of silver alloy." No mention of "40%" I ended up with an 1886-P Morgan (AU, lots of cartwheel luster) for $20 cash (a 'minus 100th anniversary' companion to my 1986 proof ASE ) Edited by DNA 09/26/2008 11:08 pm Report this Post to the Staff
XavierOfGreen Pillar of the Community United States 2589 Posts	Posted 09/27/2008 11:40 pm i believe the transitional errors for the eisenhower series go for several thousand dollars a piece, with around 20 pieces known for each error date. Report this Post to the Staff
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