I am considering buying this 1971D Ike but only if it is an unattributed Friendly Eagle Variety (FEV). Do you think it is a FEV? Thanks, TC
OK. Gotta enlighten me. What the devil is the friendly eagle? One that's wavin' hello? I think not and want to learn more..... Or, I could google, but I'd much rather hear it from you guys.
I've never really done varieties outside of large cents, but I was curious. Here is some info. http://ikegroup.org/Jun-FEV%20in%20VEDS%2025%20JUNE%2009.htm
Hello Besides the obvious lip curl, I've learned that there are two areas that can identify positively a FEV. One is the L's relationship to the crater. The crater craddles the L on the FEV and the earths islands are different.
Kirkuleez is right to provide a link to the Ike Group website; it is a wealth of free information to Ike collectors. The term "Friendly Eagle Variety" comes from the characteristic lack of a brow line above the eagle's eye, which makes the eagle appear less foreboding. For those looking for the short version of, "What is an Ike dollar Friendly Eagle Variety?" rather than "How can you tell if you have one?" here is a synopsis of some of the background information (again, from the Ike Group website): 1. The FEV was very probably the initial low relief Ike reverse design, intended for the CB (CuNi-clad Business strike), the SB (Silver Business strike and the CP (CuNi-clad Proof) Ikes.... 2. We think the design proved impractical for a 1971-S CP but not before several million CP planchets had been ordered and prepared for use by the S-Mint. As was the practice at the time, unused clad proof planchets were used in Denver production runs and that was the case in 1971 - about 10% of 1971-D Ikes are consistent with being struck on proof planchets.... 3. Five of us have been seriously looking for the FEV’s for several years. Based on the number we’ve found in proportion to the number of 1971-D’s we’ve searched, we estimate a total mintage of roughly 500,000. 4. We think the Philly Mint ran extensive test runs on as many as 30 to 100 FEV dies on CB planchets and found the design didn’t work for circulation Ikes. For whatever reason, the FEV design was not used for the 1971/72 production runs. With one important exception. 5. Denver was so eager to begin Ike production in July 1971 that it used eight older single chamber presses in the basement (at the time used for gold commerative production) for its first two or three weeks of 1971-D CB Ike production while the big twin-chamber Columbia presses were being readied upstairs. These first-struck Ikes, we believe, all had the FEV reverse.... [you can read more about the background of the FEV, along with information the Ike Group gleaned from one of the die-setters at the Denver Mint, at http://ikegroup.org/FEV.htm ]
NOPE. There is a line above the eagles eye in the brow area. The reason it's called Friendly Eagle is this line is missing in that variety, giving the Eagle a friendlier appearance. But the lines at the crater are different and there is another PUP at the crater above the L
The 1971-D Eisenhower Dollar comes with two Reverse Design Varieties (RDV). RDV-001 is the common reverse RDV-006 is the uncommon reverse. This reverse was first announced in late 1999 in CONECA's Errorscope Magazine (Nov/Dec 1999 Vol 8 No 6) a full 28 years after the coin was released. The discoverer was listed as Charles Cataldo. The description was, IMO, somewhat sketchy which is typical of Eisenhower Dollar Descriptions. If you recall, the initial description for the Type 2 Eisenhower Dollar was written to thwart even the heavily interested individuals. The RDV-006 was no different. One sentence in the report states: "The crater above the LA of DOLLAR has a thick area just left of center on the inside upper lip and thick clusters of flow lines in the center and right area of the crater rim." YIKES! The pictures provided were just as confusing as they compared the Type 1 (RDV-001), Type 3 (RDV-003), and the Type 6 (RDV-006). Including the Type 3 simply clouded the explanation IMO since the Type 3 reverse was not even available when the 1971 coins were being minted so it has absolutely no relevance. In case you're curious, the numbers assigned to Design Varieties are assigned according to discovery, not when they were acutally employed. Since the RDV-006 had been identified, another Reverse Design for 1971 was discovered. RDV-007 was used on Prototype Designs with yet two new Obverse Design Varieties (ODV-010 and ODV-011)! But I wander....... At anyrate, folks from the IKE Group (which had not been formed yet) began their hunt for the RDV-006 around the 2005/6 time frame. By deduction, David Golan was the primary searcher. I first became aware of the variety in early 2006 when I came across this thread from the PCGS Forums: http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=26&threadid=322214&messid=3144467 The CONECA Description is scanned into that thread but as you can see, it's just not that definitive. In May of that year I attended a coin show and started looking for the varriety. I found what I thought were 2 examples and then responded to a Wanted To Buy (WTB) thread on the PCSG Forums. I still could not absolutely state that the coin's I'd purchased were RDV-006's and relied upon the buyer to actually validate what I was selling him. The buyer was a fella named David Golan who later became one of the founders of the IKE Group. (He has since dropped off the charts but I happen to know that he retired to Hawaii with his family. He only occasionally checks in.) He happily validated the coin I sold him and I pocketed a nice profit! NOTHING motivates research like a nice profit! Once I received my "motivation" I made it a point to find as many of these as I could and since I still had no clue, I jumped into the research pool and made it a point to know everything I could about this variety. My searching was dedicated and many. many rolls of 1971-D IKE's were purchased and resold. What I found is best illustrated below. Craters: As you can see, yes the crater above the LA in DOLLAR is different however, I found that the crater above the that one to be even easier to spot. Note that in the center of the rim closest to you, that there appears to be a rock that has broken away? That little "rock" is an eye discernable marker for the varity! Even from the lousiest of photographs, that sucker just sticks out! The Regular Earth on the left with the FEV Earth on the Right (Focus on the Islands and the shape of the Gulf of Mexico): The coin above shows almost 7 distinct islands off the coast of a Florida, which in itself that has a completely different shape than the regular reverse. It comes to a point and almost appears doubled. The eastern seaboard also has a distinctly different shape than on a regular reverse. The eye discernable pickup point for this variety is the full round shape of the Gulf of Mexico. No other Eisenhower Reverse for the 1971/1972 coins has a Gulf shaped even remotely close to this! The Eagles: The Eagle, IMO, is the MOST difficult marker in identifying this particular variety! A hit placed in the right location with throw the searcher off. While it is a "catchy" name which is right on with regard to the design, it's danged hard to spot. Personally, I prefer calling the coin a 1971-D Type 2 since every other Eisenhower Dollar is referred to as a Type coin. (1972 Type 1, 1972 Type 2, 1972 Type 3, 1976 Type 1, 1976 Type 2, etc.) To me, it;ll always be a 1971-D Type 2 although RDV-006 was it's initial name both in the CONECA Errorscope and the PCGS Forums threads. I'm of the opinion, even though I've found better than a hundred of these over the years, that the variety is under appreciated just like the rest of the Eisenhower Dollar coins. We tried for years to get PCGS to attribute this variety but to no avail. I personally showed the coin along with a comparison report to Ron Guth, when he was President of PCGS, at the 2006 ANA Show in Denver, but thats as far as it went. In the July 2007 Issue of the Numismatist, the IKE Group released an article on the 1971-D RDV-006 but caled it the Friendly Eagle Pattern. This proved to be a mistake that all the pattern boys and professional numismatists were quick to point out and IMO, offered just a bit of tarnish on an otherwise remarkable coin variety. For those that may wonder, no, I'm not a member of the 7 folks that comprise "The IKE Group". Today, PCGS does attribute this variety but at a cost of $24 per coin since it's in the CPG. This really irritates me in that the coins is not an error (More than half the Peace Dollars listed in the CPG are die break coins), it's not a die clash such as the Bugs Bunny Franklins, its not a Doubled Die, its not an RPM, and its not an overdate! It's a bonafide and easily identifiable design variety and as such should be attributed EXACTLY the same as any other bonafide variety. Getting a 1972 Type 1, or Type 2, or Type 3 attributed costs you exactly $14. Getting a 1964 Accented Hair Kennedy costs you exactly $14. Getting a 1976 Type 1 Eisenhower attributed costs you exactly $14. Yet, getting the 1971-D Type 2 attributed costs exactly $38 ($14 + $24!) Arg! Look for these since they are out there and someday, they'll get the appreciation that they deserve and possibly someday, the premiums will be along the lines of the 1972 Type 2 IKE's that folks are still finding and selling raw for upwards of $30 in ratty condition. (Est mintage 200,000+) But until that day comes, this underappreciated variety will just have to wait since paying $38 to get one slabbed at MS63 is more or less a loser since it will not sell for even close to $38! High grade examples are rare though with MS66 coins bringing well over $500. However, since the grading fee/resale value equation is on the low side, expect more MS66 coins to show up in population reports than MS64 coins. This could be a bit misleading but it solely due to the grading costs associated with getting the TPG's to attribute the coin and has absolutely no reflection upon reality. MS66 is a tough grade to achienve for the 1971-S Type 2. Hav a Great Day.
Yep, I agree that a hit can produce a line in the Brow and make a FEV appear as not being one. BUT, if there is no line, you got one. So I always use the easiest PUP that works for me. Now, if a coin has been hit and doesn;t look like the variety, I don;t want it in my set. I don;t think there's much premium on them, so it's only to have both types in a set to get one. IMHO
If you're looking for an FEV let me know. I have a Top Pop MS66 in NGC hardware with a die crack that runs through most of STATES on the reverse. Great luster. I pegged it for a potential D/D. If you're interested, send me a PM.
thank you its not my coin i found it on ebay from the picture the head looked different to me would be nice to have a fev as my first ike
