Collectors Corner^SM: The Collectibles Marketplace

Fifty years ago, during the United States Bicentennial, dual-dated 1776-1976 quarters, halves, and dollar coins were produced with designs selected from a national competition. The three denominations were produced in cupro-nickel for circulation as well as in 40% silver for collectors. Although considered common today, the series contains one unique and somewhat mysterious rarity: a one-of-a-kind dollar coin that appeared in the till of a popular Washington, D.C., retailer.

As the United States embarks on its semiquincentennial celebration, where Americans celebrate the 250th anniversary of their nation’s independence, we turn the clock back 50 years. Just as the United States Mint endeavors on an ambitious one-year design program to mark the nation’s 250th birthday, back in the mid-1970s the American numismatic scene was all about the Spirit of ‘76.

1776-1976-S 40% Silver Bicentennial Quarter, Half Dollar, and Dollar. Click image to enlarge.

A Winning Proposal

The 1776-1976 Bicentennial coins consisted of special reverse designs for the three larger coin denominations: quarter, half dollar, and dollar. The designs were chosen as a result of the first open coin design competition since the 1938 Jefferson Nickel contest. The competition was announced in October 1973 and resulted in 884 entries. The designs were narrowed down to 12 semifinalists, from which three designs were chosen.

Jack L. Ahr had the honor of his colonial drummer design chosen for the quarter dollar. Seth G. Huntington’s Independence Hall design was selected for the half dollar, and Dennis R. Williams – a 22-year-old art student, won with his design superimposing the Liberty Bell over the Moon for the dollar coin.

1976 United States Mint Proof Set in original packaging with that year’s six coins, including the three copper-nickel clad Bicentennial issues / Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.HA.com. Click image to enlarge.

In addition to the circulating coinage, the authorizing legislation provided for 40% silver coins in all three denominations. It was the only time this composition was used for the quarter, as well as the last time this composition would be used for any official U.S. coinage. The coins were offered in three-coin uncirculated and proof sets, all bearing the “S” mintmark of the San Francisco Mint. The authorizing legislation authorized a mintage of 45 million of the 40% silver versions. This proved overly ambitious and subsequently resulted in the silver issues being sold intermittently by the U.S. Mint up until 1986, after which the remaining coins were melted. The net result was approximately 11 million uncirculated and four million proof sets.

1986 United States Mint catalog page showcasing the last round of Bicentennial offerings a decade after their initial release. Click image to enlarge.

At the time of their release, the new designs were met with both joy and derision by the collector community. Some complained of the U.S. Mint using a depiction of Independence Hall, as it had previously appeared on the 1926 Quarter Eagle commemorative for the nation’s Sesquicentennial, others found issue that the dollar design similarly reverted to a previously used design theme, noting the Liberty Bell had appeared on both the 1926 Sesquicentennial Half Dollar, as well as the Franklin Half Dollar series of 1948 through 1963.

1926 Sesquicentennial Quarter Eagle. Click image to enlarge.

1926 Sesquicentennial Half Dollar. Click image to enlarge.

1948 Franklin Half Dollar. Click image to enlarge.

A small controversy also erupted over the quarter design. The designer of a United States postage stamp issued in 1973 made the accusation that the design was copied from his stamp design, which similarly featured a colonial drummer. Others chimed in with admiration for the designs. The quarter design seemed to be the favorite, although all three had their admirers.

1973 United States postage stamp with colonial drummer boy design / Public domain image sourced via Wikimedia Commons. Click image to enlarge.

Jack L. Ahr’s Colonial drummer boy reverse on the 1976 quarter. Click image to enlarge.

Striking Up The Spirit of '76

The official first strike ceremony for the coins was held at a dramatic time in American history. On August 9, 1974, President Richard Nixon had resigned his two-term presidency amid his embroilment in the Watergate scandal. Three days later, the first strike ceremony for the 40% silver proof coins went on as planned on August 12 at the Philadelphia Mint. As was the practice at the time, Philadelphia issues did not carry a mintmark. These coins were subsequently displayed at the 1974 American Numismatic Association convention in Baltimore. While photos of these coins were utilized for promotional material, the coins were destroyed by the Mint. Although it was reported at the time that the first strike coins were given to the designers as well as a set for President Gerald Ford, it was subsequently clarified that these were never distributed. In any event, the Mint’s position was that the Philadelphia silver proof issues were destroyed.

President Gerald Ford (center) examining the three 40% silver Bicentennial coins presented to him by Mint Director Mary Brooks (right) and Director of the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration John Warner / Public domain image via the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Click image to enlarge.

The circulating cupro-nickel versions of the coins were produced at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. To address concerns that ample coins were available for circulation, the authorizing legislation allowed the Mint to produce 1974 quarters, halves, and dollars into 1975, to be followed by the release of the Bicentennial coins the same year. No 1975-dated quarters, half dollars, or dollars were struck.

During the early stages of the regular production strikes for the dollar, it was determined that there was an issue of proper metal flow. The design submitted by Dennis Williams featured thick lettering for the inscriptions consisting of “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “ONE DOLLAR.” Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro remedied this by changing the font of the lettering to a more slender and narrow appearance. This resulted in changes made in early 1975.

The hobby quickly designated the varieties as Type I (Williams’ original design) and Type II (the modified version). For the circulating issues, both varieties were produced at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints and released into circulation at the same time. A price premium developed for the Type I Dollar early on, especially for the Philadelphia version, which had the lowest mintage; this premium eventually dissipated. Mint and proof sets for 1975, as well as the special 40% silver proof and uncirculated versions, all sported the Type I reverse. The Type II reverse would appear in the annual 1976 mint and proof sets containing the cupro-nickel strikes.

Comparison of the Type I and Type II reverses on the 1976 Bicentennial Dollar. Click image to enlarge.

Collecting Bicentennial Coins

Today, the regular circulating issues still occasionally show up in change, some well-worn, others in uncirculated condition as long-hoarded coins returned to regular commerce. The proof cupro-nickel and 40% silver issues are commonly encountered in the coin market, with the silver pieces generally at prices reflective of their metal content.

Many collectors, while noting the historical significance of the issues, largely dismiss the high-mintage coins as somewhat of a nuisance in the numismatic marketplace. Anthony Swiatek, aka “Mr. Commemorative,” notes that “the Bicentennial coinage was wildly popular at the time of issuance, resulting in many being hoarded. Today, these issues are commonly available, and examples of all three denominations are often heavily represented in accumulations and causal collections.” To many coin dealers, these issues have become somewhat annoying, and Swiatek notes that the coins have become a “bane of a coin dealer’s existence when people bring them into the coin shop.” Swiatek advises that “these easily obtainable coins are not rare, but that unscrupulous individuals have mass marketed these common coins selling them greatly in excess of their actual value.” Still, Swiatek acknowledges that the upcoming 250th anniversary is likely to increase interest in the Bicentennial issues, although probably not leading to any meaningful price increases.

Undoubtedly, the coins are important pieces of numismatic history. High-graded PCGS examples, similar to other modern issues, are highly desired. Other meaningful collectibles are the PCGS designer-signed Special Label examples, each holder containing the authentic signatures of the respective coin’s designer encapsulated along with the various cupro-nickel or 40% silver three-coin sets that were produced and marketed over the years.

A Sensational Spectacle

The series contains one unique super rarity: a proof 1976 40% silver Type II dollar lacking a mintmark was allegedly discovered in 1977 in a cash register at a Woodward & Lothrop department store in the Washington, D.C., area. Woodward & Lothrop was a prominent department store in the D.C. metro area.

Speculation is rife as to the provenance of the piece. We can rule out that it was struck at the August 1974 first strike ceremony, as it is well documented from photographs that the Type I reverse was utilized. Indeed, the Type II reverse wasn’t even anticipated at that time, the need for revisions having been discovered relatively early in 1975 during the production of the coins intended for circulation. Some have speculated that the unique coin was intended as a presentation piece intended for a VIP. This theory seems implausible, especially when considering how the Mint destroyed the first-strike ceremony coins. A more likely scenario was that it was a prototype, struck at the Philadelphia Mint and utilizing the Type II reverse intended to be used on a 40% silver coin which was never put into general production.

The 1976 No S Type 2 40% Silver Dollar graded PCGS PR66. Click image to enlarge.

Past practice seems to support this conclusion; the 1975 annual proof sets contained Type I cupro-nickel dollars, and the 1976 annual proof sets contained the cupronickel Type II variety. It seems logical to suggest that the Mint similarly anticipated using the Type II reverse for future strikes of the 40% silver dollar coin. The prototype would have been produced in Philadelphia, (thus no mintmark) then sent to the Mint headquarters in Washington, D.C., for examination or approval.

How it ended up in a cash register at “Woodies” is anyone’s guess, but its proximity to both the Mint’s D.C. headquarters as well as the Treasury Building offers some clues to its provenance. In any event, the first recorded sale of the coin occurred in 1982, when it was purchased for $5,000. The coin would change hands at incrementally higher prices and was eventually graded by PCGS in PR66.

Mike Byers, an error-coin dealer and publisher of MintErrorNews.com, notes that this is the rarest of the Eisenhower Dollar coins, and “that it is in a class of its own, being among the rarest United States silver dollars ever struck.” Acknowledging the unique provenance of the coin, Byers notes that “[t]he 1976 Type 2 ‘No S’ Silver Proof Eisenhower Dollar is one of America’s great mystery coins!” He acknowledges the speculation on why the coin was produced, noting the most common theories that the coin “was struck as a pattern or as a presentation piece without the S mintmark at the Philadelphia Mint, for a government or White House official in Washington. It is not considered to be a Mint error. It appears to have accidentally entered circulation and was spent.” Byers confidently projects a valuation of “over $1 million” as the coin “is considered unique.”

Byers, like Swiatek, believes that “[t]he upcoming 250th anniversary of the birth of our nation will increase interest in the Bicentennial coinage series,” including Bicentennial coin errors and the unique Philadelphia proof issue, “as well as the 1776 Continental Dollars.” As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, a numismatic reflection of the Bicentennial coinage finds much to appreciate – many common collectable coins, along with one very uncommon rarity with a mysterious past.