All the Bicentennial Ikes - 8 pc Set

The Complete Bicentennial Ike Collection

All 8 of them!

The answer is yes! There were 8 Eisenhower Dollars struck for the Bicentennial celebration in 1975-76. The average person would have said 3 - a coin struck for circulation from Philadelphia and Denver and then the special proof issue struck at the San Francisco Mint … but that’s only a third of the story.

The Event
To celebrate the Bicentennial, the 200th anniversary of our independence, the US Mint created special designs for our Washington Quarter, Kennedy Half Dollar, and the Eisenhower Dollar. The coin designs were open to the public with nearly 1,000 entries submitted. The original Eisenhower design was in honor of both President Eisenhower and the first landing of the moon. The obverse was the bust of President Eisenhower facing left. The reverse was an adaptation of the official Apollo 11 insignia. The new bicentennial design highlighted the Liberty Bell superimposed on the moon. It was designed by Dennis R Williams. The obverse added a dual date (1776-1976). The bicentennial coins would be released for a two year period … 1976 and 1976.

The First Coins of 1975 and the Change
The first year of issue for the bicentennial was an exciting one ... people loved the new designs. But the US Mint didn’t, so after a few months changes were made to the design. The issue - the lettering around the commemorative design was not crisp. It was flat and the coin looked circulated even when freshly struck. The design was changed … the words “United States of America” and “One Dollar” were redone with a sharp and more delicate lettering. They are referred to as Type 1 and Type 2. To the eye a Type I has thick reverse letters, while the Type 2 has thin reverse letters. There were no 1975 dated quarters, halves, or dollars … but with the design change on the Eisenhower in 1976 we can actually say the Type 1 was the 1975 Eisenhower Dollar.

The Secret Silvers

As part of the celebration the US Mint introduced a 40% silver collector version of all three Bicentennial designs. The silvers carry the “S” Mint mark from the San Francisco Mint and were created in uncirculated and proof conditions. They were only sold in 3 coin collector packs.

The Complete Collection – All 8 Coins

We’ve put them all together in one collection - all the uncirculated, all the proofs, and the two special silver releases. Here’s what you get: the Philadelphia and Denver issues in uncirculated condition - both the Type 1 & 2 versions (4 coins) ... the special release San Francisco Mint proof - both versions (Type 1 & 2) and the two secret silvers ... the proof and uncirculated. Each coin is encapsulated and presented in a custom display.