Eisenhower Dollar - Silver Issues

Silver Issues

Some Eisenhower dollars were minted in a 40% silver clad to be sold to collectors. All of these coins were minted at the San Francisco Mint, with dates 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1776-1976. (By error, very small numbers of 1974-D, 1976-D, and 1977-D silver clad coins were minted and released to circulation.) The San Francisco silver clad coins were either uncirculated or proof. For the first four years uncirculated coins came in cellophane with a blue plastic token in a blue envelope, while proof issues came in a proof set-like plastic case, contained in a brown "wood grain finish" slipcase box with a gold seal in the lower left corner on the front of the slipcase. The uncirculated coins are referred to as 'Blue Ikes' and the proofs as 'Brown Ikes'. Coins minted in 1975 and 1976, all dated 1776-1976 for the Bicentennial, come in other packaging with the similarly dated quarter and half dollar of that brief series. The uncirculated coins, available in a red envelope, were sold by the Mint for $3. Proof versions, in a blue slipcase, cost $10. No silver clad issues were packaged by the Mint in 1977 or 1978.