LIKIN' IKE DOLLARS

The Eisenhower dollar, issued from 1971 through 1978, was a coin of firsts and lasts. It became the first United States dollar coin to be produced in a copper-nickel clad composition and the largest such produced

- JOSHUA MCMORROW-HERNANDEZ

It was also the last large-size circulating dollar coin, sporting the same 38.1-millimeter diameter that classic predecessors such as the Morgan dollar and Peace dollar boasted.

The clad coin’s large girth and hefty weight of 22.68 grams made it laborious to carry. When it came to the weighty Eisenhower dollar, it was a case of more money, more problems – especially on the consumer’s back.

Yet, time has been kind to the Eisenhower dollar. More collectors are recognizing the numismatic value, historical significance and even the scarcity of this series.

MAKING A CASE FOR THE IKE DOLLAR

The year 1969 saw several major events that streamed across the headlines – President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s passing, battles in the Vietnam War, the Woodstock Music Festival and the Apollo 11 Lunar mission.

Calls for a new dollar coin echoed through the halls of the federal government. United States Mint Director Mary Brooks wanted to see the return of the silver dollar, despite pushback from Chairman of the House Banking Committee Wright Patman. Meanwhile, New Jersey Republican Representative Florence Dwyer was calling for a dollar coin to honor Eisenhower. The proposal was supported by Democratic Missouri Representative Leonor Sullivan, who concurred that putting Eisenhower on a new dollar coin would serve as “equal time.” After all, since 1964 the half dollar had been serving as a memorial to Democratic President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated at the age of 46 on November 22, 1963.