During its eight years of production, it enjoyed the same obscure status as the half dollar and was a coin rarely seen outside of areas where gambling was legal. The circulating edition of the 'Ike' Dollar, though it did answer the needs of casinos, was otherwise a flop with the public. Mint Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro, the Eisenhower Dollar debuted in the fall of 1971. The reverse carried a reproduction of the Apollo XI emblem, both Eisenhower's passing and the first moon landing having occurred in 1969.ĭesigned and sculpted by U. Eisenhower, the late president and Army general. These dollars were of the traditional size and bore a portrait of Dwight D. An omnibus bill passed at the end of that year provided for the elimination of all silver from the half dollar and production of a new dollar coin that was likewise to be of the copper-nickel-clad composition. As this restriction ran out in 1970, the owners of gambling casinos were lobbying for dollar coins to replace the ones lost to silver hoarders. VarietyPlus Eisenhower Dollars (1971-1978)Īfter the aborted Peace Dollar coinage in 1965, Congress mandated that no more silver dollars be coined for a period of five years.
