How to tell if an Eisenhower Dollar is silver?

I've tried googling this and searching on the forum. It seems most answers to the question involve having the coin in your hands where you can either weigh it on a scale or where you can examine the edge of it.

The trouble is, when looking at coins on eBay it is hard to do those things. Many of the listings call Ike's "silver dollars" even though they aren't silver. And then many of the ones that are silver don't actually mention whether it is actually silver or not.

I'm kind of interested in buying a few 40% silver Ikes to add to my collection. I understand they were only made for collectors and so any true silver versions will be either an uncirculated or proof coin. Here's my confusion though. If the Ike is listed as a proof or uncirculated, does that immediately mean that it is 40% silver? Or are there proofs and uncirculated versions that are also clad?

 

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Well, obviously there's clad Uncirculated Ikes, because all circulated Ikes were once uncirculated.
There's also clad and silver proofs.
I have seen many clad Ikes listed as "silver" and I sometimes correct the seller, but they usually don't care.
You can search for "blue ike" or "40%", "silver proof," or "silver brown ike."
And for just the BU 40%ers, they'll all carry an S mintmark.
If you're still uneasy, just only buy listings that you're certain about.

 

All of the silver "Ike" coins were minted at the San Francisco Mint in 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1976. These coins were either uncirculated or proof. Uncirculated coins came in cellophane with a blue plastic token in a blue envelope. Proof issues came in a proof set-like plastic case in a fancy brown wood colored box with a gold seal on back. The uncirculated coins are referred to as 'Blue Ikes' and the proofs as 'Brown Ikes'. Coins minted in 1975 and 1976 for the Bicentennial come with the quarter and the half dollar of that year. The uncirculated coins were sold by the Mint for three dollars; the proof version for ten dollars. Two varieties of the dollar were produced in 1976 and can be distinguished by the thickness of the lettering.
From Wikipedia

So to answer your question if it's not in the package and a S mint mark from those years the only way to know for sure is weight.
Blue Ike

Brown Ike

 

Right - I read the same article on Wikipedia. Let me refine my question down a bit. If I see one being sold as a "Blue Ike" and it is in the package and has the little blue insert, does that mean it must be a 40% silver coin? Or can that still be clad coin? Because I've seen several of these on eBay like that and they don't specifically mention if they are 40% silver or not. But the title always says "Silver Dollar" but that isn't very reliable when dealing with Ikes because a lot of them are sold as "silver dollar" and they are just regular clad dollars.

 

If it's in the package with the blue chip, it's silver.
The envelope says "Uncirculated 197X Silver Dollar."

 

A few rules of thumb

All S mint business strikes are 40% silver*

All 1971 and 72 proof ikes are 40% silver

All P and D mint Ikes are copper nickel clad**

All 76 Type II, 77, and 78 proofs are copper nickel clad

This just leaves the 73, 74 and 76 Type I proofs. These come both ways and if they are not in their government holders you can't tell for sure without having them in hand.

* There are two known 1973-S coppernickel business strikes.

** There are a few 1974-D and 1977-D 40% silver Ikes known, about a half dozen of each.

 

+1!

 

Yes, this is true. But not always.

http://www.coinworldonline.com/articles/1973-s-dollar-struck-on-circulation-planchet/

http://www.coinworldonline.com/articles/discovery-coin-out-of-hiding-after-30-years/



In 1973, at least three S Mint coins were struck on copper-nickel clad planchets and if someone has a "blue pack" coin that they suspect is copper-nickel............well.......all I can say is that it would have considerably more value than the it's Silver counterpart. Even if the Silver coin grades out at MS69.

The Bottom line is that SIX copper nickel IKEs carry the S Mint Mark. These were all Proof coins and folks need to know the difference. Even a circulated Proof will not look like an S Mint coin struck on a copper nickel planchet since the manufacturing processes are totally different.

In reference to using the term "Silver Dollar" when some of the coins do not have silver in them, that falls along the same lines as calling a Lincoln Cent a Penny. If its big and bulky and the same size as a silver dollar well it must be a silver dollar. As wrong as it may appear or be, thats just the way it is.

 

So, here is my 1974-S. Are you saying the only real way to tell is by weighing it?

 

Take a peek at the edge. Hard to tell from pics.

 

Tissue test should also work. Lay a single layer of tissue (bathroom or facial) over it. If it is silver it will look white through the tissue, if it is coppernickel clad it will appear a dull gray.

 

Mine is definitely clad based on the edge. Thx for the help.

 

Well, if you DO buy a sealed Blue Ike in official US Mint packaging that turns out to be CnClad with an S mint mark..........

You just had a MAJOR SCORE worth 5 figures on the open market!



These do exist for 1973

 

What about the rare amount of bicentennials that were accidentally struck with silver clad planchets? How would one tell if they had one of those gems?

 

Easiest method would be weighing it as silver clad weigh 24.59 grams and clad weigh 22.68 grams.

 

I could have said this or better yet SHOULD have said this but for whatever reasons did not.

It is actually the best and simplest, yet straight forward answer.

Everybody should invest $20 in a digital coin scale.

 

And thanks to mint tolerances a clad dollar could weigh as much as 23.59 grams and a silver clad can weigh as low as 23.61 grams.

 

Easiest way I've found is sight.

 

I think the best thing to do is go get a book on Eisenhower Dollars. If you read it, it will explain which ones are silver, which aren't, and help you identify them more clearly.

After that, maybe visit a local coin shop and talk to an expert. Let him help you learn, and you'll probably also find a deal or two in the shop. Always helps to have a pro show you the way.

If you are looking on Ebay and find people listing "silver dollars" that aren't silver, I'd suggest moving on to the next auction.

 

You can always knock it with my fingernail and listen for the distinctive "clink".

You can also often tell by sight, when it's got that pasty white appearance that looks just a bit off compared to a clad one.

With enough practice, you can tell from a football field away. I got some halves from the bank teller and even through the speed that she was slapping the coins down when counting, I could hear the clink.