Ikes And Susan B Dollars. Do People Really Pay More Than $1?

There are silver (40%) ikes that go for more than face, and a few rarer varieties of ikes and SBAs that might go for more, but there are a lot of uncirculated commons that are going to keep the price of commons at face for some time.

Ikes can still be had occasionally in circulation, although very rarely. Occasionally they will pop up in a store or (more often) in a bank when Grandma cashes them in. They are also available through bulk channels as has been evidenced by other threads. Since they do not fit in most coin counters or vending machines they usually end up at the Service Desk or in the bank deposit when they do pop up in stores. Most common dates are usually not worth more than face absent varieties. Ikes do seem to have more documented varieties for their short term, likely due to the size.

SBA's are kind of a weird one. They were also produced for a short time and seem to have less documented varieties. They occasionally pop up in circulation since they are machine-counted along with Sac's and Presidential dollars. I often find one or two at banks or stores mixed in with golden dollars or in the quarter drawer.

The coins you bought are housed in "Garage Slabs", not one of the more trusted grader's. The slabs may well protect the coin for physical damage but do not add value or credibility to it like a "real" slab might. Since you got them for face you did just fine. Unless there is a variety I would even leave them in the slab for storage unless you need to fill a blank with the coin elsewhere.

I often laugh when I see ikes for $1.20 at coin shows... Why get them for that much when I can get them for face?

I actually don't have a problem with that, and have occasionally bought them for that. The guy probably paid face for them and needs to keep the lights on at the shop. People like Ike's for the size and "weird" factor. They are hard enough to find for "civilians" that people might be interested in paying a slight premium for them.

Many collectors normally would pass over them at a 20% premium but I wouldn't begrudge the guy for putting them out there for it.

My understanding was that the seller bought them from the Bradford exchange. I've never bought coins from there and just don't understand why anyone would... seems like a huge rip off to me.

For those who can't understand why anyone would pay more than face for an Ike dollar, I have just one question. What "kind" of Ikes are you buying? Do you really think that all Ikes are exactly the same? There are differences in quality with the Ike series just like any other series. They are not all created equal. Just take a look at the Ikes offered by James Sego (or in my registry set) and tell me that they're only worth a dollar. Nope. You did more than good getting those dollar coins for face. You got the holders for free. I think you are underestimating how good of a deal you got, really.

Cascade hit the nail on the head.

I was a cashier for 4 years from 2008-2011. During that time, I saw 2 Ikes spent, neither one at my till. I have asked for them every time I go to the bank for any reason, and the closest I have ever gotten was a "You just missed one this morning." The branch managers have all laughed when I ask if it was possible to order a bag. I could dedicate hours of my time and maybe score a bag for face, but I would much rather pay $1.25 per coin and save the hassle. In my mind, all Ike dollars over AU are worth $1.10-1.25 each.

As far as SBA dollars go, 1979 and 1980 are easy enough to find, minus the 1979 wide rim. 1981 was not made for circulation, and 1999 are really pretty tough to find. I've gone through maybe $2000 worth of small dollars, and I am still missing the 1999-D.