A Prooflike Ike Dollar

Well, here's a coin I never thought I'd own. Those of you who know me know that I have been working on a Prooflike Type set for about 10 years now. One of the many show-stoppers is the Eisenhower Dollar. Throughout the entire series, NGC has designated 4 Bicentennial Ike's as PL (3 of which are currently on Ebay), and a single non-Bicentennial (a 1971D). The Bicentennials have been on Ebay for several years, and their asking price ranges around $2500 (which is, I'm sure, why they have not sold).

In the 7070 Type Set (which is what the NGC Registry set is based on), there are 3 Ike's required. The first is the regular clad version, the second is the Silver issue, and the third is the Bicentennial. NGC has not designated any Silver issues as PL.

Well, I was trolling Ebay, as I often do, and this beauty appeared in my search. Long before NGC started designating PL's, old ANACS did. I've had mixed success with the small white holders regarding PL - some of the coins I've bought have been incredibly strong PLs, some of them did not cross to NGC as a PL. Either way, this one looked good so I put in a pretty strong bid. Lucky me, I won!

So, I present to you my newest Prooflike: a 1971 S (silver issue) graded ANACS MS-64 PL. In hand, the mirrors are definitely full and strong. There are a few marks which limit the grade (64 is probably right, but I wouldn't be surprised with a 65 when I send it to NGC eventually). But, it is unquestionably a PL.

Tell me what you think! I've included a video so that you can see how the mirrors behave in the light.

 

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Beautiful coin, that's a rare thing to come across especially on ikes. A friend of mine just bought a PL Franklin half, it's very interesting to see PL coins that usually aren't.

 

That is an amazing coin. it is genuinely tough to find a PL IKE in a legitimate slab. Great coin and should it land in an NGC slab with a PL designation I think its a population One coin. I have seen Blue IKE's (73's) with PL reverses but never both sides in the wild.

 

That is a very nice Ike. I, myself, have never seen one before. Thanks for showing us. Good luck if you try to cross it. I think it should.

 

Congratulations! That has to bring a smile to your face.

 

What are all those scratches?

 

Above the eagle's head? They are die polish.

The key indicator here, for those not familiar with die polish, is that the scratches appear to go *under* the rim of the earth. You can see the scratches on the right side of the globe (in the Atlantic), and in the fields - but there are no scratches on the actual relief of the globe (the rim). Similarly, the scratches appear to go under the eagle's head - but are not actually visible on the eagle's head.

If they were scratches from cleaning or post mint damage, they would go across the top of the eagle.

 

Please tell me all of those awful scratches are on the slab.

 

Yes, there are numerous heavy scratches on the slab (most significantly, the ones in the obverse right field are on the slab).

 

I'm trying to completely understand this attribute. How can the surface be called "proof like" with all those "die polish marks"?

 

Nice coin. I'm thinking PL for sure. I guess NGC would give it a 64PL.

 

I used to deposit my pay check at the bank and would always ask if they had any large dollars. I was trying to assemble some sets of Ikes from circulation. I was going through one haul when something shined up at me, it was an impaired proof found in the wild.

 

Prooflike is based on the reflectivity - not on marks or die polish lines. In fact, the die polish is probably what caused the reflectivity! PL is based entirely on the depth of the mirrors, which are quite reflective in spite of the die polish marks.

 

I'm thinking that since they are part of the manufacture process, they don't count in the grading.

 

That is correct.

 

They are striations from the die polish getting on the planchet, during the strike. It is a by-product of a prooflike coin being an accident of die polish, and the requisite good strike.

Beautiful coin. I have never seen a prooflike Ike before.

 

Now, here's a 1971-D on the Bay for $1700.00. Enjoy the extreme beauty of this masterpiece. The opposite end of the spectrum of the OP's coin.







https://www.ebay.com/itm/Eisenhower...a=1&pg=2060778&_trksid=p2060778.c100290.m3507

 

That’s tremendous, good luck with your submission to NGC.

 

I'm curious as to how this possibility has been ruled out in the case of the OP's coin.

 

Because it doesn't have an "S"?