Eisenhower Dollars--Why?

I'm sure I've read somewhere that they were partly issued to meet the needs of the Nevada gambling industry, as the Peace and Morgan dollars formerly used in slot machines were now worth more than face value owing to the rise in the price of silver.

They were also issued to commemorate the moon landing which happened in 1969, the same year Eisenhower died, as a triumph for NASA and organization founded in Eisenhower's administration.

One of the mods collects these, he might have some input, but I can't remember who it is.

Yes, I was going to preface all this thusly:

WITH RESPECT TO J BUCK...

Funny reply indeed Coinfrog ... LOL

I pulled close to a dozen of them out just working part time in an ice cream parlor in IL in the early 70s, i.e. I didn't go out of my way to find them. So they did circulate a bit. Anecdotally I'd say they circulated more than Kennedy halves.

I remember that these were popular in the day. No, they did not circulate greatly, they were seen as a great novelty piece. Even my non-coin collecting friends knew what they were and had seen them.

As has been said, this was also at the time when American Exceptionalism was accepted as reality by the masses since prosperity was up, a man's job alone could support the family (debt was not yet the norm for everyone), and just we had just done the impossible: we had put men on the moon! The moonshot had put us into a new "space age" era of technology like pocket calculators and digital watches. Everyone knew we would put men on mars in the 80s, or at least by the end of the century, and so our contemporary heroes like Ike were very important to us. Being American was something to be very proud of. Hence Ike on the OBV, and the moon landing on the REV, of the new dollar coins made for an unbeatable combination.

Silver Peace and Morgans had been gone long enough that it was fun to see such a large coin with a modern date on it. I remember my Dad used to put every one he got into change in a box. I know he had over 70 of them in the first few years. But again, most of it was for the novelty, the patriotism, and the fun. People did not like to carry them around for daily purchases.

Unlike the modern dollar coins, I don't recall people of the day not recognizing the Ikes when they saw them. And again I think this was a result of the more pro-American mindset in media, politics, and the masses.

The we hit the 200th birthday of America! in a culture where schools still had concerts where the kids sang songs like "God Bless America," and "America the Beautiful," "This Land us Your Land, " etc, the Bicentennial was a big deal to all of us.

I remember even my non-coin collecting peers in school bringing in Ikes (JFKs, and the new quarters) to show around. This was in a day when the coin design was not changed every time someone at the mint sneezed, so "special" was REALLY special compared to today.

The Bicentenial gave Ikes another boost in popularity as novelty items.

I think had the Presidential dollar series been introduced after the Ikes, the mindset of the people may have taken off on them as novelty items also instead of outright rejecting them.

Back in the 70's my dad would come back from a real estate auction and bring back a pocket of Ikes. They auctioneers would give you one every time you bid.