The 1977 Eisenhower Dollar

Is there any modern-clad dollar more longing for attention than the 1977 Eisenhower Dollars? Maybe ask the 1980 Susan B. Anthony Dollars and get back to us. Just like the 1980 SBA Dollars, a coin struck with relatively little numismatic significance (unlike its first-year 1979 counterparts or scarce 1981 kin), the 1977 Eisenhower Dollar is a coin without seemingly much going for it – at least on the surface. It was sandwiched between the prolific and popular Bicentennial coinage of 1976, the penultimate entry in the Ike Dollar series that ended in 1978.

On the surface seems the 1977 Eisenhower Dollar seems to offer little to collectors today but a few opportunities to fill holes in a set of Eisenhower Dollars, a series that kicked off in 1971. But scratch beyond the surface and one sees issues worth looking into. The Eisenhower Dollar was struck for circulation at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints in 1977, though the coin saw relatively little action in commerce beyond the casinos of Nevada. Consequently, only 12,596,000 were made in Philly and 32,983,000 at Denver. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Mint turned out 3,251,125 copper-nickel clad examples for collectors buying 1977 Proof Sets. Most proofs fetch around $7 to $15, but the record price for a 1977-S Ike goes to a PCGS PR70DCAM that took $7,015 in a 2008 Heritage Auctions sale.

Also of interest are a handful of transitional 1977-D errors struck on 40% silver clad planchets that were leftovers from production of the 1776-1976-S 40% Silver Bicentennial Eisenhower Dollars. These sell for between $15,000 and $20,000 apiece on the rare occasion they cross the auction block.

Much more affordable to the average collector are the regular-issue copper-nickel clad issues from Philadelphia and Denver, along with the San Francisco clad proof. We’ve entered a time when even circulated clad Ike Dollars register premiums, even if only 10 to 25 cents above face value, and this is the case as observed in everyday dealer trades. Uncirculated specimens of the 1977 and 1977-D Dollars grading MS60 to MS63 will take $5 to $20. Pieces graded higher become scarcer, thanks to the large size and heavy weight of these coins, which clanked around in shipment bags and easily acquired nicks, dings, and scratches of all manner.

In MS64 and MS65, both the Philly and Denver pieces trade for around $28 and $35, respectively, at those levels. In MS66, both are rare. They’re nearly unobtainable in MS67, the highest grade for the 1977-D. Meanwhile, the 1977 has a single specimen graded MS67+, the highest grade for that issue. The record price for the 1977 is $3,600, which was paid for an MS67 specimen that hammered at a 2021 Stack’s Bowers Galleries auction. Besting that price is a 1977-D graded MS67 that sold for $7,637.50 in a 2013 Heritage Auctions sale.