Values
A 40% silver Eisenhower dollar’s market depends on the date and the grade. This page is the San Francisco collector planchet. Circulating clad P and D live on the Eisenhower dollar page. This page does not duplicate that mintage or value table.
The G, VF, and MS-63 columns sit in the mintage chart below. Those figures are from the NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. They are a published guide, not an offer and not melt. A blank cell means that grade was not printed in this pass.
A dealer looking at the coin in hand will beat a guide number. If you are trying to sell a pile of them, start with how to sell a coin collection and the Ohio coin dealer directory.
Key Dates
PCGS CoinFacts and NGC named no traditional key-date list for this series in this pass. This page will not invent one. Do not call silver S a key because the planchet is different.
There is no key-date bolding on the mintage chart for that reason. A worn silver S is still worn.
Errors
These are named varieties. This page will not invent a count.
40% silver S. A collector planchet. It is not an error and not a higher grade.
1976 Type 1 versus Type 2 clad. Two Bicentennial reverse styles on circulating clad. Those rows live on the Eisenhower dollar page.
1972 Types 1 / 2 / 3. Catalogs name reverse details on the Earth. This chart does not split them. This page will not invent those rows.
Compare the coin in hand to the NGC Coin Explorer Eisenhower page. We do not host their plates.
Varieties
The 40 percent silver S planchet is this page. Circulating clad Type 1 and Type 2 1976 live on the Eisenhower page. Blue packs and brown packs are packaging, not a die variety.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
This chart is 40% silver collector S strikes. Circulating clad P and D mintages live on the Eisenhower dollar page. This page does not duplicate that table.
1971-S, 1972-S, and 1974-S stay the NGC uncirculated-silver counts. 1973-S silver is the PCGS CoinFacts regular-strike figure. 1776–1976-S silver is still blank and stays off the chart.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | NGC ID | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | S Silver | 6,868,530 40% silver collector strike. Not the circulating clad planchet. | 17408 | $22.25 | $22.25 | $17.50 |
| 1973 | S Silver | 869,400 40% silver collector strike. PCGS CoinFacts regular-strike mintage. Neighboring silver rows are NGC uncirculated-silver counts. | — | — | — | — |
| 1972 | S Silver | 2,193,056 40% silver collector strike. Not the circulating clad planchet. | 17411 | $22.25 | $22.25 | $17.50 |
| 1974 | S Silver | 1,900,156 40% silver collector strike. Not the circulating clad planchet. | 17417 | $22.25 | $22.25 | $17.50 |
Mintage: NGC Coin Explorer, retrieved 2026-08-23. A blank year in the prose is a year NGC did not print. These are Explorer manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: NGC Coin Explorer. Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
NGC ID: NGC Coin Explorer listing number, retrieved 2026-08-21. A dash means this pass did not record an ID.
The grade columns in the same box are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer.
Read the date. Read the mint mark. Look at Ike’s cheek before you argue clad.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance.
A silver collector Ike is a 40% silver planchet on a 38.1 mm dollar. That is not the circulating clad Ike and not the current small dollar. This page will not invent a fine-silver number for those strikes.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 38.1 mm |
| Thickness | 2.54 mm |
| Weight | 24.59 g |
| Composition | 40% silver clad |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | Frank Gasparro |
Thickness 2.54 mm, weight 24.59 g, and diameter 38.1 mm are the Numista silver collectors' issue figures (N#15202). Composition is 40 percent silver. This site has no printed 40% Ike melt preset, so this page will not invent a fine-silver number. Circulating clad P/D Ikes live on the Eisenhower dollar page.
Grading
A 40% silver Eisenhower dollar wears first on Ike’s cheek and hair, and on the eagle over the Moon. This page is the San Francisco collector planchet, not circulating clad.
Silver S is a planchet, not a higher grade and not a key. Circulating P and D clad Ikes live on the Eisenhower dollar page.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Eisenhower’s cheek and hair | The cheekbone and the hair above the ear. | Those high points flatten while the coat can still look busy. |
| The eagle over the Moon | The eagle and the Earth on the regular reverse. | The reverse high points go slick with the cheek. |
| Mint mark and planchet | S on a 40% silver collector strike. Not a circulating clad P or D. | The planchet is composition, not a grade. |
| Fields | Bag marks on the cheek and in the open fields. | On mint-state coins, marks and luster decide the number. White is not a grade. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A disk you can still call a 40% silver Eisenhower dollar if you already know the type.
- Ike’s cheek and the eagle are gone.
- The date may be a shadow. Do not scrape it.
- Shine does not make this a better coin.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points on this 40% silver Eisenhower dollar are already slick.
- Ike’s cheek and the eagle are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A 1971-S silver is still this grade if it is this worn.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- Ike’s cheek and the eagle are flat. The type is an outline, not a portrait.
- The rim should be full enough to hold the legend.
- This is a worn coin, not a details story.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail sits away from ike’s cheek and the eagle.
- The high points are still tired.
- Do not clean the date to “see it better.”
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- Ike’s cheek and the eagle are outlined and flat — no real sharpness yet.
- The rest of the coin can look busier than the grade.
- The date should be clear. The mint mark should be too, if there is one.
VF
Very Fine
The type is doing real work. Ike’s cheek and the eagle still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on ike’s cheek and the eagle. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular 1971-S silver is still this grade if it is this worn.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on ike’s cheek and the eagle.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade. Trust the high points.
- The date should be sharp.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and “almost” lives on the same high points.
- A trace of rub on ike’s cheek and the eagle.
- Luster may still sit in the fields. Rub on those high points is still rub.
- A bright coin with a slick high point is still slick.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster, not how white the coin looks.
- No rub on ike’s cheek and the eagle.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed-up coin is still chewed-up.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on ike’s cheek and the eagle.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean 40% silver Eisenhower dollar for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on ike’s cheek and the eagle.
- Marks and luster, not a romance about a date or a white field.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic. The glossary has the numbers.
Proof silver S Ikes exist. This page does not invent a PR price grid. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color designations (BN, RB, RD) do not apply here. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.
Overview
A 40% silver Eisenhower dollar is a United States collector dollar with Eisenhower on the front and the Apollo 11 eagle over the Moon on the back, struck at San Francisco on a 40% silver planchet. Collectors mean those silver S coins when they say silver Ike. Circulating P and D Ikes are the same Gasparro design in clad. That later coin is not this planchet.
For the circulating clad type, read the Eisenhower dollar page.
People like them because the silver S coins give you something to sort. They are also easy to ruin. A wiped dollar looks “better” to a seller and worse to everyone else.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
The Mint introduced the Ike dollar in 1971. Circulating coins are clad. San Francisco made 40% silver collector strikes for part of the run. 1975 is not a date. 1973-S silver is on this chart. 1776–1976-S silver is still blank. The circulating series ends in 1978. The Bicentennial Kennedy half is a different series.
This page will not invent a shop list or a fine-silver number to fill the years between.
Design
Obverse: Eisenhower facing left, “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and the date. Reverse: an eagle landing on the Moon with Earth behind, “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” and “ONE DOLLAR.” The mint mark sits above the date.
Look at the cheek, the eagle, and the date. Those spots go flat first. Silver S is a planchet, not a grade.
People Also Ask
What years are silver Eisenhower dollars?
San Francisco made 40% silver collector Ikes for part of the 1971–1978 run. This page is those silver S strikes. Circulating P and D coins are copper-nickel clad and live on the Eisenhower dollar page. 1973-S silver is the PCGS CoinFacts regular-strike count. 1776–1976-S silver is still blank and stays off.
How much is a silver Ike worth?
It depends on the date and the grade. The G, VF, and MS-63 columns in the mintage chart are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23 for the silver S dates on this page, not an offer. This page will not invent a fine-silver number. A dealer looking at the actual coin will beat a guide number.
Are silver Ikes circulating coins?
No. The 40% silver S strikes are collector planchets. Circulating P and D coins are copper-nickel clad. Those clad rows live on the Eisenhower dollar page. This page does not duplicate that chart.
Why are some silver S years missing?
1973-S silver is on the chart. It is the PCGS CoinFacts regular-strike mintage, not the larger uncirculated-silver total used on the neighboring NGC rows. 1776–1976-S silver is still blank. This page will not invent that count.
Are 1976 Type 1 and Type 2 on this page?
No. Those clad Bicentennial reverse styles live on the Eisenhower dollar page. This page will not mix silver S onto that table.
Collector Considerations
Buy the coin, not the story. A common clad 1972 in a high grade can cost more than a worn silver S. That is normal. The clad chart lives on the Eisenhower dollar page.
If you inherited a box, do not scrub the date to “see it better.” Keep them in the holders they arrived in, or in cheap cardboard flips, and take the box to a person who sees Ikes every week. The coin dealer directory starts in Ohio. This site does not invent shop names to fill a paragraph.
Raw coins are fine. So are slabs. What is not fine is a coin that has been cleaned until the fields look like glass, then offered as “original.”
If you collect the silver S coins, this page is that planchet. If you collect circulating clad, use the other page. For an earlier silver dollar, read the Morgan dollar.
A Final Word
Silver Ikes reward people who slow down. Read the date. Read the S. Leave the polish under the sink. Do not call a clad Ike silver because the face looks the same.
When you want the circulating clad type, the Eisenhower dollar is already here.