The striking of silver-clad Eisenhower dollars for collectors was controversial.

Incidentally, they also authorized the General Services Administration (GSA) to sell 2.8 million Carson City Morgan dollars from the vaults of the United States Treasury.

Nixon (formerly Eisenhower’s Vice President) on December 31, 1970, the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970 authorized the production the coin. In a compromise, silver-clad versions were authorized to be struck and sold to collectors. While United States Mint Director Mary Brooks lobbied for the coin to be struck in silver, Congress instead chose to strike the coin for circulation in the same copper-nickel (Cu-Ni) clad composition in use for the dime and quarter dollar. Eisenhower, presented Congress with an opportunity to cater to the needs of the industry. This “need”, and the recent passing of beloved war-hero-turned-President Dwight D. In fact, any Eisenhower dollar in MS-66 or above is quite a prize.While the country at large’s desire for a large dollar coin at the start of the 1970s was hardly demonstrable, the gaming industry developed an acute need to find a replacement for the silver dollars it used to feed tens of thousands of slot machines. The values for both the 1973-S uncirculated and silver proof dollars goes up dramatically as the coins approach the upper Mint State grades. The 1973-S uncirculated Eisenhower dollar has a value of around $19 , though this is a bargain as compared to the $120 (in 1981 dollars) that it was worth in the early 80s.

While both 1973 issues had a much lower production output than the 19 silver dollars, the 1973-S proof is especially scarce. The uncirculated silver dollar is often known as a “blue pack” silver dollar (so named thanks to the blue envelope in which it came) and the proof dollar is dubbed the “brown pack,” thanks to the brownish color of its faux-wood box. The 1973 40 percent silver dollars come in two varieties: an uncirculated version that was originally packed in a cellophane holder with an enclosed blue and silver token, and a proof specimen packaged in a hard plastic case which came inside a woodgrain box. In 1973, the United States Mint was in its third year of striking Eisenhower dollars, and while most were made with a copper-nickel clad metal base, some were produced with a 40 percent silver composition for coin collectors.

1972 dwight eisenhower dollar coin