Bicentennial Dollar / Discussion

This is the discussion related to the wiki page Bicentennial Dollar.

The Type Two 1776-1976 No "S" Bicentennial dollar.

Taylor Jones (guest) 17 Dec 2009 21:28

The Type Two 1776-1976 No "S" Bicentennial dollar.

I have researched about this coin and from what I understood, Type one Eisenhower dollars were minted with mintmarks either "S" or "D" and type two dollars were only manufactured in San Francisco. The type two coins did all contain an "s" mint mark.

If all type two bicentennial dollars were made at the San Francisco Mint, (where they did label their coins with an "S") why am I looking at one without a mint mark? I know the Philadelphia mint did not use mint marks at this time which would suggest that my coin came from there but according to this Eisenhower Dollar article: type two coins were not produced in Philadelphia, only in San Francisco.

Frank Gasparro, the coins designer did make alterations to the lettering of the obverse side of the Bicentennial coin in Philadelphia. Online websites also told me that he may have produced a few examples at the Philadelphia mint, only one of which is known to exist. Owned by a collector Mitchell Spivak.

I guess my question is:

Is the coin I have one of Frank Casparro's early examples, a rare Philadelphia minted Bicentennial dollar with type two lettering and no "s" mint mark, or can someone explain where my coin came from. From the info I have read, Ike dollars of this type are supposed to be very rear as only one other is known to exist. Perhaps I have found a second. Given to me by my great granfather who was a rare coins collector.

Please respond anybody!

Last edited on 18 Dec 2009 01:32 by Ken Kash Show more

Re: The Type Two 1776-1976 No "S" Bicentennial dollar.

Ken Kash 18 Dec 2009 00:49

I think there is some confusion between type 1/2 coins which is the difference between silver versus nickel/copper compositions and variety 1/2 which references the lettering font type. All of my references say only San Fran made silver issues but if I am confused this can easily be cleared up by weighing the coin as silver issues weighed (24.59 grams) more than copper/nickel versions (22.7 grams).

I searched the site and found no reference to what you are referring to so additional links to confirm would be appreciated.

If your grandfather was a rarity collector then there may be an error he thought was uncommon so you may want to re-inspect the coin for something out of the norm like doubling.

As far as no mint mark this is not an uncommon error but some thing referred to as a grease filled die, photos would be appreciated to confirm.

Last edited on 18 Dec 2009 01:12 by Ken Kash Show more

christine (guest) 09 Feb 2012 05:48

I also appear to have 2 of these type 2 coins with no mint mark. I am having trouble finding anything other than it is rare and only 1 known to exist. I see that these post are quite old so I'm hoping you have obtained more info on this by now and can fill me in on what I have here

No Mint Mark

Ken Kash 09 Feb 2012 10:40

Hi Christine,

A major certification house has confirmed the existence of 2 known examples. With most claims for rare coins I tend to be a tad skeptical.

My first advice is to verify that the coin is silver by weighing the coin. Next look at it the mint mark location under magnification and see if there are traces of the mark. If there are no traces and you firmly believe that you have a rarity then find a local coin dealer that will do a submission to the grading company PCGS on your behalf so they can certify the coin or tell you otherwise.

As a side note PCGS is the top tier grading company and the certification house that verified the coins existence. Unfortunately only a network of dealers are allowed to submit coins and the public has to go through them..

Hope this helps,
Ken