How much is a 1972 Silver Dollar worth? September 16 2014

Wondering how much your old "Ike" dollar is worth?  Read below to learn the value of a 1972 silver dollar.  

The Eisenhower dollar series was created to commemorate the late president Dwight Eisenhower, with the first coins being produced in 1971.  All of the dollar coins produced for public circulation were made on a copper-nickel planchet, the same type used in U.S. quarters, dimes and half dollars.  A few special types of "Ikes" were struck in a 40% silver alloy, and sold by the U.S. Mint to coin collectors for a small premium.  
In 1972, the U.S. Mint produced the normal copper-nickel coin for circulation at two mint branches, Philadelphia and Denver. Denver mint coins can be recognized by the small 'D' mintmark directly above the coin's date. These dollars are common, and are worth only $1-2 in any condition.  Philadelphia coins can be identified by their lack of a mintmark.  While most of these coins are common as well, there is one notable 1972 Philadelphia variety with a greater value.  

The rare 1972 "type 2" design variety is worth upwards of $40 in all conditions. Type 2 dollars are identified by the details of Earth on the reverse side. Next to the outline of Florida, there are no distinguishable islands. On the less valuable Type 1 and Type 2 1972 dollars, there are visible and distinct islands in the Caribbean Sea.   

The picture below illustrates the difference: Type 2 is on the far left, followed by Type 1 in the middle and Type 3 on the right.   

1972-P Type 2 Eisenhower Dollar

 

 

Interested in learning the values of all Eisenhower dollars?  Click the link to see our price guide for the entire series.  

 

 

 

 

Written by Max Breitenbach
Max Breitenbach has been collecting US, foreign, and ancient coins for over a decade, and has been writing about them for nearly as long!  Max is a regular guest blogger on CoinWeek.com.  He is currently working on a collection of European silver crowns and is planning on finishing his US type set sometime within the next century. You can find him on Google+.