1973-D Eisenhower Dollar

The story of the 1973-D

Production at Denver fell off a cliff in 1973. Only 2,000,000 were made, against 93 million the year before. That drop is why the 1973-D is the one people look for. The next year it made 46 million (1974-D).

1973 came to 2 million, so neither mint's 1973 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1976 (Bicentennial, Type I) (4,019,000) and the 1977 (12,596,000).

Of the 8 Eisenhower Dollars Denver struck between 1971 and 1978, this is the scarcest. No Eisenhower Dollar of the 1970s had a smaller run.

More on the 1973-D

Denver's 1973 Eisenhower dollars went straight into mint sets alongside the year's Denver cents, nickels, dimes, quarters and halves. Denver struck 2,000,000, but as with Philadelphia only about 1,769,258 went out in the sets that were sold; the rest were melted. Compare that with the 92,548,511 Denver struck for circulation in 1972 and you can see how sharply production stopped.

Because banks never received them, a 1973-D found loose was almost always pulled from a set. Coins left in their original packaging for decades can show toning, sometimes attractive and sometimes spotty, which affects how collectors view them. The Ike went back into full circulation production at both mints in 1974, so the 1973 pair stands out as a gap year in the series. Check that the D above the date is clear and look for bag marks on the portrait. Value runs from a small premium for typical uncirculated examples to a collector premium for top grades. Unlike the San Francisco coins sold to collectors in some years, it contains no silver.

Apollo 11 eagles and silver for collectors (1971 to 1974)

The Eisenhower dollar arrived in 1971, two years after both the former president's death and the first Moon landing, so its reverse borrowed the Apollo 11 insignia. Philadelphia and Denver struck copper-nickel clad coins for circulation while San Francisco made 40% silver versions for collectors, sold in blue packs as uncirculated coins and brown boxes as proofs.

The 1973 Philadelphia and Denver coins were made only for mint sets, never for general circulation, which is why they have the lowest mintages of the regular clad issues. Specialists also sort the 1972 Philadelphia coins into three reverse types by the shape of the Earth and its islands. Most clad Ikes saw little real use, so many survive with heavy bag marks rather than wear.