Bill Jones' 20th century Proof coins
$1 Eisenhower, Silver-clad (1971-1974)

Owner Comments:

The Eisenhower dollar was Congress’ first attempt to issue a dollar coin that would be used in general circulation. Patterned after the classic silver dollar, the Ike dollar was the same diameter as the earlier coin, but it was made of the same copper-nickel clad material that was used in the lower denominations. The mint also issued special collector coins in Proof and Uncirculated that were 40% silver. Using the same composition that had been employed for the Kennedy half dollar, the silver Ikes of outer layers of 80% silver, 20% copper that were bonded to a core of 20.9% and 79.1% copper. Known to collectors as “blue” and “brown Ikes,” the Uncirculated coins were mint packaged in blue envelopes, and the Proof pieces came in simulated wood brown packages. As it had been with the classic silver dollar, the general population found the Eisenhower dollar to be heavy and cumbersome. As a result the coin was seldom seen in circulation, and the vast majority of pieces were either placed in collections or more often hoarded by those who mistakenly thought that the coins had a collector or intrinsic value. In reality only business strike pieces in high states of preservation or the collectors’ pieces in 40% silver are worth more than their face value.