In 1974, there were 1,306,579 1974-S Silver Proof Eisenhower Dollars which came off the US Mint presses at the San Francisco Facility. BUT, not all the coins were the same! According to the James Wiles, author of the CONECA Attribution Guide to Eisenhower Dollar Die Varieties, early on in the production cycle of the 1974 Silver Proof Dies, the S mintmark became damaged and was subsequently replaced. (This is the exact same scenario which played out in 1979 and 1981 with the Susan B Anthony Proof Dollars resulting in the Type 1 and Type 2 Mintmarks.) James refers to this mintmark as mintmark Style 1 (MMS-1). In his 1997 Attribution Guide to Eisenhower Dollars, he estimates that less than 10,000 Silver proof coins were produced with that old mintmark thereby creating a “modern scarcity”. Finding one of the Silver Proof Dollars with Mintmark Style 1 can be quite challenging. As a result of the mintmark replacement, there are 4 different mintmark styles on the 1974-S Silver Proof coin. MMS-1 - This mintmark is standard for the 1973 Silver Proof Eisenhower Dollars. The upper serif is a "ball" of metal. There is a variant of the MMS-1 on 1974-S coins which is a lighter punch meaning the mark was not struck deeply into the die. The net result is the upper and sometimes the lower areas within the loops are clear and show the mirrored fields of the coin between the loops. This gives the mintmark the appearance of being smaller than the typical MMS-1 Mintmark. As such, it's also known as a "Micro S" mintmark by some. .. Above, the Micro S or Clear Mintmark is on the left. The typical MMS-1 is on the right. Make note of the symmetry of the letter "S" in addition to the "ball type" serifs. MMS-2a - This mintmark appears slightly distorted compared to MMS-1 but it is primarily characterized by the notch which appears on the outer left of the upper loop. Additionally, the serif on the upper loop is a straight vertical line instead of a “ball”. MMS-2b - This mintmark is the same as the MMS-2a except there is a serif split on the upper right corner with no evidence of the RPMP (outlined below) in the upper loop of the mark. This particular mintmark is considered rare by James Wiles. The example I have appears to be a weakly struck or possibly "grease filled" MMS-2a with the key being, no evidence of the upper loop doubling which appears on the MMS-2c. MMS-2c - This mintmark is the same as MMS-2b except that the upper loop is literally doubled giving it the appearance of an RPM. When folks first observed this particular mintmark, they naturally assumed it was an RPM and many have been labeled as such. However, comparisons of other proof coins, such as Washington Quarters, showed that the exact same mintmark showed up virtually across the spectrum of proof coin offerings. This pointed to the probability that MMS-2c was in fact a “doubled” mintmark which is referred to as a RePunched Mintmark Punch (RPMP). NOTES MMS-1 is common on the 1974-S Copper-Nickel Clad Proofs but quite scarce Silver Proofs for 1974-S. Liken the scarcityof this mintmark to the 1979-S Type 2 SBA and the 1981-S Type 2 SBA’s for some perspective. When you are searching for these mintmark variants, be sure you're looking at the Silver Proof coins! Some of these can be quite difficult to locate with the following prioritized scarcities: MMS-2a – Most Common MMS-2c - Common MMS-1 – Scarce to Rare MMS-2b – Rare When you do run across a 1974-S Proof IKE with this mintmark, be sure to check that it’s the Silver Proof. Especially if it’s already been slabbed by a TPG. I inadvertantly paid $42 for a Cn Clad Proof that was slabbed as aSilver coin from a top TPG simply because I totally forgot to check the edge. Once I got the coin home, that copper edge was laughing at me!
Excellent information 19Lyds! I am an Ike fan, and this was nice to learn. Now I have to look at my 74-s mint marks. You should post this in the blog area too. I would hate to see it get buried before the weekday crewe arrives.
I looked at approximately a 15 1974 S silver proof Ikes under a loupe today at a show and all were the common MM. When I told dealers what I was looking for, they all had never heard of the variety but were interested. TC
Is this one more or less difficult to find than the 1971D FEV? If I buy a BU roll of 1971D Ikes online, what do you think are the chances of landing an FEV? Thanks, TC
The 1974-S MMS-1 on the Silver Proof is bar far more difficult to find than a 1971-D FEV. I mean think about it. James Wiles estimated that less than 10,000 of the MMS-1 were minted while the IKE Group Estimates that 550,000 to 750,000 FEV's were minted. However, finding an FEV in MS66 could be quite challenging since less than 20 have been graded by PCGS and they are highly sought after. What are the odds of finding an FEV in a roll purchased off of eBay? I have no idea but it has been done before. My first positive experience with FEV's came from Wayne Herndon. I bought 5 1971-D back in 2006 for $3.99 each. 4 Were FEV's. I ordered 20 mare at $3.99 each and about 18 were FEV's. Two more rolls yeilded a little bit shy of four rolls of BU FEV's of which a couple graded MS66. On the other end of the stick, I've purchased "rolls" (counts of 20) 1974-S Silver Proofs from various online and national dealers at $16.95 per coin and have yet to find an MMS-1. I've purchased sealed shipping boxes of 1974-S Proofs and have yet to find any MMS-1. Your best bet is to arm your self with the information that has been provided and use it at future coin shows. (Watch out for those CnClad Proofs though!)
Great write up Lee. I have found several Cn, but have not found the silver yet. Will definately keep looking.
