MELT VALUES / SILVER
Eisenhower Dollar (40% Silver, 1971–1976 'S')
Melt value now SNAPSHOT
$21.99
22.0× face value
Designer
Frank Gasparro
Years struck
1971–1976 (silver collector versions, San Francisco)
Mints
San Francisco (S) for silver issues
Silver 'Blue Ikes' (BU) and 'Brown Ikes' (proof) sold directly to collectors; ~50 million total silver pieces.
THE STORY
The Eisenhower dollar honored both the general-president and the Apollo 11 landing — Gasparro's eagle-over-the-moon reverse is the only circulating US coin born of spaceflight. Circulation versions were copper-nickel; only the San Francisco collector strikes carried 40% silver, packaged in the blue envelopes and brown boxes that named them.
The Ike is the last true 'cartwheel'-size US dollar — 38.1mm, the same diameter as the Morgan.
KEY DATES WORTH REAL MONEY
Check these before treating any coin as melt.
| 1973-S silver proof | Scarcer date of the Brown Ikes |
| 1976-S Bicentennial silver | Moon-behind-Liberty-Bell reverse |
Think you have one? Check recent auction records before selling — and read our grading basics first.
SPECIFICATIONS
Grading: where wear shows first
Collector-issued, so most survive in original grade. Blue-pack BU and brown-box proofs both count.
Never clean a coin. Ever. Cleaning permanently destroys collector value — dark original toning is worth more than shiny damage.
Counterfeit check
None to speak of - identification is the game: only San Francisco (S) Ikes carry silver.
Gear that settles it: an electromagnetic verifier, a calibrated scale and calipers — counterfeit basics.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ACTUALLY ASK
Which Eisenhower dollars are silver?
Only S-mint collector issues 1971-1976 - 40% silver, 0.3161 ozt, about $22 at $69 spot. All circulation Ikes are clad.
Coin image: Wikimedia Commons — CC BY 2.0 — James St. John.
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