Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia

1974-S Silver Clad Eisenhower $1

Coinage Context

Silver eagle lands for the last time: The 1974-S Eisenhower dollar is the last date in the series that features the original reverse design (commemorating the landing of Apollo XI) in the 40% silver format, There were no Ikes dated 1975, and the 1776-1976 double-dated commemorative issue features a rendition of the Liberty Bell superimposed on the moon. By the time the original reverse design was resumed in 1977, the 40% silver format had been discontinued.

College goes belly-up: Proofs were sold separately from the sets; they proved to be the kiss of death for Eisenhower College, Seneca Falls, NY.after Congress diverted $9 million to the college from proceeds of silver clad Proof sales, protests followed.
Collectors felt strongly that they did not want to pay for charitable donations over which they had no control (they had no forewarning about the "surcharges" that were soon to come in the commemorative series!). Eisenhower College closed its doors.

Numismatic Information

Availability: Mint State 40% silver 1974-S Ikes are readily available in higher grades. Proofs are likewise available without difficulty.

Certification popular: A large quantity of Uncirculated 1974-S Ikes have been submitted to PCGS for third-party grading. The January 1993 Population Report lists 917 coins at the MS-66 level, 393 at the MS-67 level, and 11 coins at the MS-68 level, with none graded higher. The Proof coins show a smaller population in the report, with 108 coins at the Proof-66 level, 132 at the Proof-67 level, and 33 coins at the Proof-68 level, with none graded higher.

Varieties
Business strikes:
1. 1974-S silver clad.

Proofs:
1. 1974-S silver clad.

1974-S Eisenhower: Market Values

SILVER CLAD

1974-S Eisenhower: Summary of Characteristics

Business Strikes:
Enabling legislation: Act of July 23, 1965 (clad metal), Act of December 31, 1970, and others.
Weight (silver clad): 379.512 grains (tolerance 4%); outer layers of .800 silver, .200 copper bonded to inner core of .209 silver, .791 copper.
Melt-down (silver value) in year minted: The price of silver fluctuated wildly in 1974, with several surges above the $6.00 per ounce level. The March 1, 1974 issue of The Coin Dealer Newsletter gives the silver price as $6.50. By October of that year, silver had fallen to $3.85, and by November, the roller coaster had taken silver back up to $5.05. With .3161 ounces of pure silver in each 40% silver Ike, the melt-down value of the pieces ranged from about $1.21 to $2.05 or more.
Dies prepared (approximate): Obverse: 19; Reverse: 10.
Business strike mintage: 1,900,000.
Comment on availability, MS-65 or better: Readily available, but scarcer in this category than in lower grades.
Comment on availability, MS-64: Same comment as preceding.
Comment on availability, MS-63: Common.
Comment on availability, MS-60 to 62: Common.
Comment on availability, VF-20 to AU-58: Very few 40% silver examples of this date saw any circulation, as they were sold to collectors who paid a premium.
Characteristics of striking: The typical 1974-S 40% silver Eisenhower dollar is well struck and lustrous.
Known hoards of Mint State coins: No specific hoards of this coin are known, although quantities (50-100 piece lots) are frequently available.

Proofs:
Dies prepared (approximate): Obverse: 523;Reverse: 373.
Proof mintage: 1,306,579.
Comment on availability, Proof-65 or better: Most extant specimens are in this category.
Comment on availability, Proof-64: Scarcer than the above.
Comment on availability, Proof-63: Still scarcer.
Comment on availability, Proof-60 to 62: Scarcer yet.
Comment on availability, less than Proof-60: Very few exist.

Commentary
The low mintage figures and overall quality of the Uncirculated and Proof 40% Ikes of this year add to the desirability of this date. High-grade specimens are readily available.