A replacement for the silver dollars that had been used to power tens of thousands of slot machines, however, had to be found fast by the gaming industry.ĭue to this “need” and the recent passing of Dwight D. The general public’s desire for a dollar coin was hardly noticeable at the start of the 1970s. Therefore, it is technically not a 1971 silver dollar - just a very large coin with the denomination of one dollar.What Makes A 1977 Eisenhower Dollar Valuable? Struck to the tune of 47,799,000 pieces, the 1971 dollar has a copper-nickel clad composition and is a base-metal coin. The 1971 clad dollars were struck at the Philadelphia Mint and don’t contain any mintmark. We’re going to dive deeper into the distinguishing marks of the copper-nickel clad versus silver dollars below and talk about 1971 dollar coin values below. If you see an “S” mintmark above the date… then it’s a 40% silver dollar.If your 1971 Eisenhower dollar has either no mintmark or a “D” mintmark above the date… then it’s made from copper-nickel clad.The reverse of the Eisenhower dollar contains a slightly modified version of the Apollo 11 insignia, which was designed by astronaut Michael Collins and artist James Cooper.Įisenhower dollars are commonly referred to as silver dollars by many, but the fact is that relatively few of these coins contain any actual silver.Īll of the 1971 dollar coins that were produced for circulation were struck from copper-nickel clad planchets, while only a small number made for collectors are silver coins. The heads side (obverse) of the Eisenhower dollar was designed by Frank Gasparro, whose Lincoln Memorial motif was seen on the tails side (reverse) of the penny from 1959 through 2008. Eisenhower, who served as the 34th United States president from 1953 through 1961 and died in 1969 at the age of 78. The Eisenhower dollar pays tribute to Dwight D. When the 1971 Eisenhower dollar coins rolled off the presses at the United States Mint, they became the first dollar coins officially struck and released for circulation since 1935 - when the last Peace dollars were made. Here’s how to tell the rare and valuable 1971 silver dollars apart from the ones that are worth a little more than dollar… 1971 Eisenhower Dollar Coin Factsġ971 Eisenhower dollars opened a unique chapter in numismatic history! Some 1971 silver dollars are worth only a little more than their face value, while others are worth thousands of dollars. How much can you really get for your 1971 Ike dollars today? Have a 1971 Eisenhower silver dollar coin and want to know its value?

Value of a 1972 silver dollar