Could someone point me in the direction of a basic guide to grading Eisenhower Dollars. I have a hard time making even basic circulation vs. uncirculation decisions with this coin as it does not seem to have any obvious high wear points that really stick out. I don't need a really specific guide, but some basic info in identifying wear. I am looking into putting an uncirculated Ike set together and plan to primarily use mint sets to do so...but with 1971 and 1972 being only circulation issues...I want to learn more about grading this coin. Thanks!!!
I know of no on-line grading guide for Ike dollars. I would suggest that you obtain a copy of the ANA Grading Standards for United States Coins. It can be found at most on-line book sellers for a very reasonable cost.
The ANA Grading book list the high point for the Eisenhower Dollars as: High points AU-58 Eisenhower's cheek and jawbone, center of neck and edge of bust. Reverse eagles head, high points of ridges and feathers in wings and legs. Lou
I agree Ike's are hard to grade . Best way is to tilt the coin around and look for breaks or a change of color in the luster on the high points.
I have found Ikes to be one of the tougher coins to grade, particularly in high MS grades. The biggest difference between 62-64 and 65-67 coins is luster. All of these coins, particularly the ones meant for circulation (i.e. non-silver), have hits, but it is the luster that will set apart the lower grade coins from the higher grade ones. Feel free to take a look at my website for a complete set of graded Ikes: http://www.pbase.com/miker/mint_state_ikes Have fun...Mike
Look at the closeups of the Earth at the end of the page. This is the easiest way to tell the differences between the type 1, 2, and 3 Ikes...Mike
That's what I get for being an idiot and not using my scroll bar. Thanks for the information... Great Pics!
I picked up about 175 Silver Ikes in the last month. 100 blues and about 75 browns. I will be using the magnifying glass for hours on them. They are hard to grade for us with bad eyes LOL
While I really like Ikes, I don't know much about them.... What are the Blues and Browns??? Packages??? Whats it differentiate??? I hope to learn all about them as as I build a set...
In 1971 72, 73 and 74 the Mint made Silver 40% Proofs in Hard plastic stuck in a Brown box and Silver 40% uncirculateds in Cellophane wrap stuck in blue envelopes. They also made 40% silver Ikes for the Bicentennial 1976 year, but they came with the 40% silver half and quarter in different package Ikes were made from 1971 to 1978 but no silver in the last 2 years Clad copper nickel Ikes were made in all the years
I've got several well circulated ones that I'd bet do.... Not sure thats something to brag about though...
