Why Was The 1973-S 40% Silver Eisenhower Dollar So Valuable?

PCGS - It may hard for some to imagine now, but there once was a time when a typical 1973-S 40% Silver Proof Eisenhower dollar was a $150 coin. That was the case in the early 1980s, when silver prices soared to heights of $50 per ounce and the 1973-S Ike dollar was still a contemporary coin enjoying price buoyancy, as many modern collectible coins tend to do early in their secondary marketplace trading. Today, PCGS CoinFacts reveals a typical PCGS PR67DCAM 40% Silver 1973-S Eisenhower dollar trades for around $25 - a far cry from its early '80s pricing. But many longtime collectors who remember the 1973-S Proof Ike as an expensive coin still want an answer to the question, "why was it so expensive?"


Ike dollar, 1973-S $1 Silver, DCAM, PCGS PR70DCAM

One must revisit 1973 to understand why the 1973 40% Silver Proof Eisenhower dollar trended into the exosphere during its first decade of existence. When the Eisenhower dollar was initially released in 1971, the United States Mint produced just two numismatic offerings: the 40% Silver Uncirculated Eisenhower dollar and 40% Silver Proof Eisenhower dollar. These were dubbed "Blue Pack" and "Brown Pack" Ikes in numismatic parlance, respectively. As the 1971 and 1972 Eisenhower dollars were not issued in ordinary Proof Sets and Uncirculated Sets, collectors who wanted specimens for their collections needed to buy the individual 40% Silver Eisenhower dollars.

However, many collectors scoffed at paying for the 40% Silver Eisenhower dollars, which were issued by the United States Mint at $3 for uncirculated versions and $10 for the proofs. That was a tough sell when an entire 10-coin Uncirculated Set could be bought from the U.S. Mint for $3.50 and a five-coin Proof Set cost $5. Still there were plenty of collectors who ponied up the money to buy the numismatic Eisenhower dollars, which tended to fall in value on the marketplace soon after they were issued.

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