Is the difference between variety 1 and variety 2 of the '76 Eisenhower dollar really apparent or is there something special I must search for? I remember I had a great deal of trouble differentiating between the '82 Lincoln cent varieties. Thanks in advance for any help. I came across a stash of approximately 200 Eisenhower dollars at a local bank. They were pretty ordinary and maybe I'll keep them around as "earthquake dollars", but they got me thinking. Are there folks who collect circulated Eisenhower dollars, and where do you all find them? Thanks again.
The V1 and V2 Ikes are easy ones. Look at the lettering on the reverse. The letters of the V1 are thick and pointed. Easiest to see on the N and A. The V2 coins look like all the other coins in the series.
Bob, You can tell by the font size on the back. The easiest letter to tell the difference is the "T". The "T" on Type I has 90 degree angles and the Type 2 is slanted. The best thing you can do with the IKE's is to sell them on craigslist for a 20-25 % premium in lots of 100. take the extra $50 and buy silver or a numismatic coin.
I found(borrowed) a pic of the V1 '76 Ike. Notice the letters are thick and straight. The Letters N,M & A come to a point. Compare this to any Ike of any other year and they are easy to see.
you bet people collect ikes. i collect them and use them as everyday money. i find them at banks on rare occasions. there some much fun to use
Thanks everyone for the info. You've really made it clear. Now I'm curious about what FHDave said about the '72s looking "closely at Earth".
I hope you have a loop. I think it has to do with the size and number of islands off the Florida coast. I'll see if I can find a better description.
Nothing's ever simple. There's also an obverse difference. There are slightly different shapes to some of the letters but the biggest is that the type II has a large crease on Ike's neck. This coin also has a large circle superimposed over the Liberty Bell whic is a little difficult to see. There are no known mules so you can tell the type by either side. Off topic a little, but there's another Ike that rarely gets mentioned. There are actually two types of the 40% unc version. One was made to mint set quality on mint set presses and the other was run off in a few days in July 1976 on high speed presses. Millions of these "high speed" coins were made and beaten up at the mint but sales were poor and virtually all were destroyed. The '76 type I Eisenhower is a very scarce coin in gem condition. Even mint set coins are usually banged up.
Type 1, then Type 2: The same in proofs: The obverse's are different, but it is more subtle than the reverse differences: Hope this helps...Mike
Funny. On monday afternoon when I first replied to this post I pulled out my Ike Dansco and noticed the neck crease for the first time. I guess I never really looked that close before. I just got the Ike Dansco about 2 weeks ago and moved the coins from discoloring 2X2s that they have been in for 30 years.
Now what we need to do is find a mule with a type I obverse and type II reverse. This is a very common occurance on the other circulating coins because there are little die changes almost every year. Probably what's happening is that they start changing out the dies on the first day of the year and then get confused about whether they've changed a reverse die or not. If the reverse die looks to be in good shape then they think it's been changed and create a coin with a mismatched die. It might have happened with the Ikes though it probably presupposes that the reverse die was changed first since the differences here are easily seen. So I'm looking for a '76 type I with a type II reverse.
Thanks again folks. This kind of solid info is what's great about this forum. I found the Type I and Type II '76s pretty easily. Then I glanced at the thirty or so circulated '72s and I think I'll be able to find islands south or east of Florida. Of course many of the coins are worn to the point where that close a distinction will be just not there. Does anyone have a picture of the obverse that clearly shows the circle around the bell and the neck crease? Thanks again.