1971-D Eisenhower Friendly Eagle Pattern (aka RDV-006)

[19Lyds]

In the July Issue of the Numismatist there is an article on the Friendly Eagle Pattern Eisenhower. This reverse is know through the CONECA circles as the RDV-006 (Reverse Die Variety)

 

Did anybody read this article and do you have any opinions to share?

[19Lyds]

No comments at all??

[rbrown4]

I have not seen the article, however would be interested to hear a rundown on what it presented. Can you fill us in.

 

Thanks,

 

Rey

[19Lyds]

Basically, the author(s) state that they believe the RDV-006 die was intended as a Clad Proof Die originally sent to San Francisco. Since the proofs were not made, somehow at least four dies along with some proof prepared planchets were inadvertantly (or intentionally) shipped to the Denver mint where they ended up in production presses. The indicator here is the placement of the mintmark since the branch mints were doing their own MM during that time period. This makes sense since I do have a couple of Proof-Like 1971-D IKEs that definitely show some mirroring in the fields.

 

 

Please note that this is NOT a polished coin but it does have prook like characteristics.

 

Additionally, not all the design elements were carried forward to other coins indicating that perhaps this was an experiment of some type in creating a CN Clad Proof coin.

 

The authors have designated this coin as an IKE Pattern which has caused some discussion across the street.

 

Regardless, the coin is unique and right up there with the Type 2 Business Strike as the mintage is estimated at 500,000, possibly less. I do know that in all my searching for this coin, that they are far and few between and I expect the number available will disappear rapidly as more and more folks search these out.

 

One thing is for certain though and that is high grade examples are far and few between. I know of 4 PCGS graded MS66's and only know of 2 NGC Graded MS66's. Thats not to say they aren't out there though. I also know that there are DDO examples, DDR examples, and DDO/DDR examples along with regular examples.

 

ANACS is designating these and I'm hoping that PCGS will start designating them as well.

[19Lyds]

Whoops, forgot where I was.............

 

ANACS is designating these and I'm hoping that PCGS & NGC will start designating them as well.

[WoodenJefferson]

And how long did these so-called pattern Ikes escape detection by the collecting community? I mean, these Ike's were minted 36 years ago, I would have thought this variety would have been recognized rather early and cherry picked pretty quickly.

 

I was also wondering why no C-N were struck in proof in 1971 & 1972 to be included into the proof sets? Who's decision was this to go ahead and omit these Ike proofs?

 

I know there were 40% Silver proofs struck in those years, but it still puzzles me why there were no proof clads for the inaugural year.

 

The US Mint has been rowing in different directions ever since 1965. It took until 1999 to get everyone rowing in the same direction...now they just need to see where they are headed?

[DonHeath]

VarietyVista put up some great pics and identifying information.

[ibyandsellsmith]

Well if NGC/PCGS starts desginating these, then they better start desginating the type B quarters. As of now they don't.

[19Lyds]

And how long did these so-called pattern Ikes escape detection by the collecting community? I mean, these Ike's were minted 36 years ago, I would have thought this variety would have been recognized rather early and cherry picked pretty quickly.

 

This reverse was first published in the DEC 1999 issue of Coneca's Errorscope Magazine with Charles Cataldo as the discoverer. Why were these not discovered until 28 years after they were minted? I have some theories but in reality the IKE was never really accepted in the collecting community when it was first released. Additionally, it is possible that this particular reverse did not see the light of day until many years after its minting. One of the reasons these coins were produced was to satisfy the needs of gambling house slot machines since all the Morgan and Peace dollars were removed from circulation after the silver act of 1964.

 

For reference purposes and those that do not know, the six reverse die varieties are:

 

RDV-001 - Low Relief Eagle Landing found on the 1971, 1971-D, and 1972 Type 1 Coins

RDV-002 - The High Relief Eagle Landing business strike CN Ike intended for Proof Production.

RDV-003 - The high relief Eagle Landing found on the Type 3 CN Business Strike as well as the 1973, 1973-D, 1974, 1974-D, 1977, 1977-D, 1978, and 1978-D coins.

RDV-004 - The Type 1 BiCentennial reverse on coins produced durin 1975

RDV-005 - The Type 2 BiCentennial reverse on coins produced during 1976

RDV-006 - The 1971-D Pattern

 

 

I was also wondering why no C-N were struck in proof in 1971 & 1972 to be included into the proof sets? Who's decision was this to go ahead and omit these Ike proofs?

 

Why no CN Clad Proofs? I have no idea. The authors of the article claim that proofs were in the works as some proof planchets are known to exist but none were produced. Its possible that it would not have made economic sense for the mint as the time too. Ordering was limited to 5 sets per customer number but you could have as many customer numbers as you applied for.

 

I know there were 40% Silver proofs struck in those years, but it still puzzles me why there were no proof clads for the inaugural year.

 

The 40% Clad planchets were much softer than the CN planchets so proof production was easier with existing die sets. Also, I may be wrong but the 40% Silver coins were not originally offered when the IKE was released. I think they were offered for collectors after the fact. The quality on those coins was not really that great either as no MS68 40% business strikes exist today from any of the top grading services that I know of.

 

The US Mint has been rowing in different directions ever since 1965. It took until 1999 to get everyone rowing in the same direction...now they just need to see where they are headed?

 

I agree. They currently appear to be saturating the market with more coins than the average individual can keep up with.