40% Silver Coins ($1 FV)

US circulation coinage issued prior to 1964 contained 90% silver in the half dollar, quarter, dime, and dollar coins. Beginning in 1965, the United States Mint transitioned away from silver as the majority metal inside of its coins due to the rising price of silver. Most coins either transitioned to a cupro-nickel alloy, with a few coins using 40% silver content through 1976. Right now, 40% Silver Coins are available to purchase online from Wallace Precious Metals.

Coin Highlights:

• Coins arrive inside of plastic bag!
• Struck between 1971 and 1976!
• Contains .3161 Troy ounces of actual silver content.
• Bears a face value of $1 (USD) backed by the federal government.
• On the obverse is the image of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
• The reverse features an eagle with olive branch landing on the moon.

Each of the 40% Silver Coins in this product listing were issued by the United States Mint for circulation between 1971 and 1976. The available coins are known as the Eisenhower Silver Dollars and were generally available from the United States Mint from 1971 to 1978, but only the coins issued between 1971 and 1976 contained 40% silver.

The Eisenhower Silver Dollar was the first silver dollar issued by the United States Mint since the 1935 conclusion of the Peace Silver Dollar program. The coins were conceived in 1969 as a commemoration to one of the nations most decorated military leaders and accomplished presidents following his death in March of that year.

Two versions of the Eisenhower Silver Dollar were eventually issued by the United States Mint. Given the increasing silver prices of the 1960s, Congressional leaders and the US Mint settled on a circulation Eisenhower Dollar with base metals and a collectible silver coin with 40% silver content. The latter was issued for the aforementioned shorter time period in the 1970s, while the circulation coin was issued throughout the 1970s.

On the obverse of these 40% Silver Coins with a $1 (USD) face value is the left-profile portrait of President Dwight D. Eisenhower created by Frank Gasparro in 1971 for the new silver dollars. The design captures the bust of the man who led Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, including the successful D-Day Landings in France that helped turn the tide of war against the Nazis.

The reverse of 40% Silver Coins from the US Mint includes the image of an American bald eagle landing on the moon as it clutches an olive branch. The design is based upon the mission insignia NASA astronauts used in 1969 during the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. Gasparro also designed this image in 1971 and the only year during the Eisenhower Silver Dollar issue it wasnt used was 1975 and 1976 when the US Mint issued celebratory bicentennial designs for US coins.

If you have any questions, please contact Wallace Precious Metals. You can call us at 212-391-2211, chat with us live online, or simply send us an email.