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Message:: [QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 4374982, member: 101855"][ATTACH=full]1103956[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1103957[/ATTACH] Silver Proof Bicentennial Dollar, Type 1 Reverse [ATTACH=full]1103954[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1103955[/ATTACH] Clad Proof Bicentennial Dollar, Type 2 reverse. The Bicentennial Coins       Although the United States actually won its independence in 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, 1776 has always been the date pegged as the beginning of American freedom. The recognize the nation’s 200th anniversary, Treasury Department held a contest for Bicentennial coin designs that would appear on the reverse of the quarter, half dollar and dollar coin during the years 1975-6. Dennis Williams won the competition for the dollar coin. His design featured the Liberty Bell superimposed in front of the moon.       The design was generally well received although the drummer boy reverse on the quarter by Jack Ahr received the most praise. The obverse remained the same, except for the duel dates “1776 ∙ 1976.” All of the coins carried that date. There were no quarters, half dollars or dollars that were dated 1975.       There are two varieties of the Bicentennial Eisenhower Dollar. The most obvious differences between the two was the thickness of the lettering. The first pieces had thick lettering. For the later pieces the lettering was thinner. There were other minor changes to the bell and the moon, which are hard to describe in words. The mint made these changes citing esthetic concerns. [ATTACH=full]1103964[/ATTACH] The Type 1 and 2 Bicentennial dollars side by side.       For the last two years of the series, 1977 and ’78. The original Eisenhower Dollar design was resumed. The mintages were quite high, but the coin continued to circulate poorly.       In 1979, the mint introduced “The Dollar of the Future,” the Susan B. Anthony Dollar. It is ironic that that the public also rejected this coin for same reason that people rejected the Twenty Cent Piece a little over a century earlier. Its size was too close that of the quarter, and people confused the two. [ATTACH=full]1103966[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1103967[/ATTACH] The Susan B. Anthony Dollar Conclusions       Much of the information for this piece came from four sources, the PCGS “Coin Facts” site, Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia, Wikipedia and The Red Book. I was surprised to learn that the Eisenhower Dollar sets are very popular. PCGS noted that the Ike Dollar set is “a perfect starter coin” and that is one of the most popular registry sets.       A review of the number of sets bore out that statement. As expected there are 4,103 Morgan Dollar sets, but the Ike Dollar is not that far behind with 3,055 sets. The Peace Dollar has attracted 1,226 sets.       Over the on the NGC registry, Ike dollars are not as popular. There 5.473 Morgan sets, 1,559 Peace Dollar sets and 1,430 Ike sets. Part of the reason for those amounts is that NGC is not as well respected in the modern coin grading market as PCGS. Many collectors feel that PCGS grades modern coins more strictly and that a high grade from them is more prestigious.       Despite that fact that the Eisenhower Dollar is a very common coin, high grade examples are scarce. It is rare to find a clad business strike piece that grades MS-66 or better. The reason is that these coins were not treated with tender loving care at the mint and in storage. They have been clanged around in bags, and the design, which has large open fields, is prone to picking up marks.             The Eisenhower Dollar was one of growing number of U.S. dollar coins that have failed to fulfill their mission. Its time was brief in the annals of the U.S. Mint System, but during that time it has provided those who collect modern U.S. coins with some interesting collect[/QUOTE]

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