1977 Eisenhower Dollar Coin Value Checker

The coins series that the 1977 Dollar is from goes by a few names. Officially called the Eisenhower Dollar, they are also commonly known as Ike Dollars due to that being Eisenhower’s nickname. They can also be referred to as Silver Dollars but as we’ll explain later, that’s not true for the 1977 coin.

Fascinated to learn more? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Here we’ll look at the 1977 Dollar Value, including looking at the value of its individual varieties. All you need to do is read on to find out more. Let’s go!

1977 Dollar Value Chart

1977 Dollar Value by Mint Mark

The Eisenhower Dollars are loved by collectors for a few reasons. They were the last of the large dollar coins made before they were reduced in size, and they are also enjoyed as they never became popular for circulation.

Many wonder about the 1977 Silver Dollar value but these coins (except for a few rare errors) don’t contain any silver, unlike some older dollar coins. Instead, these coins are made from copper and nickel but that doesn’t mean they can’t be worth a huge amount.

The Eisenhower dollars were first minted in 1971, mainly due to a shortage in dollar coins for slot machines in the gaming industry. The 1977 Dollar was made in three locations of Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco.

Here we’ll look at these locations in more detail so you can have a more accurate idea about the value of your 1977 Dollar. And, A great idea is to use a Coin Value Checker to know exactly what your 1977 Dollar is worth.

1977 No Mint Mark Dollar

Up until 1980, Philadelphia didn’t mark their coins, aside from a brief period during World War Two. That means any coin that you find without a mint mark would have been struck in the famous city. We call these No Mint Mark coins.

In total. 12,596,000 dollars were struck in Philadelphia in 1977. That accounts for less than a third of the overall coins made, which means they are rarer than those struck in Denver. But due to them being fairly recent coins, even the rarest coins don’t have an extremely high value.

To get a high valuation for this coin, it needs to be in almost perfect condition. Even if your coin only has very minor damage, then it’s likely only going to be worth its face value. Coins are rated from 1 to 70 and even at a 50 grade, these will only be worth a few cents over a dollar.

So, when do these coins become valuable? Well, at a grade of 60, which is regarded as mint state, they will only be worth around $2. At an MS63 level, you’re still only likely to get $5 for your coin. As you can see, a coin has to be very close to perfect to be valuable.

With an MS66 coin, that value jumps to around $200. MS67 is more or less the highest grading that a circulated coin can expect to achieve. Here your coin will, on average, be worth an impressive £2,000. The record sale price for a 1977 No Mint Mark Dollar was $3,600, which sold in 2021.

1977 D Dollar

Denver had more than double the mintage of Philadelphia. While Philly had around 12.5 million coins minted, 32,983,000 were made in Denver in 1977. With this, you’d expect them to be less valuable, as there are more out there.

However, that’s not what we see in reality. The reason seems to be where these coins were distributed. Most of the Denver coins made their way into slot machines and therefore quickly became heavily worn.

Due to this, their valuations are similar to Philadelphia. While that’s mostly true, we find that the highest levels of graded coins can sell for a little more. The record sale for a standard 1977 D Dollar is $7,638. The average sale price for an MS67 coin from Denver is around $3,500.

As for the other grades, it’s the same situation as Philadelphia. Almost all coins will only be worth their face value and need to be in the highest levels of mint state for that to change. Unless you have an MS66 coin or above, it won’t be worth that much.

But wait, there is one huge exception! An extremely small number (thought to be 15) of 1977 D Dollars were accidentally struck on a silver planchet. A planchet is just the name for the blank metal disc before it becomes a coin.

These coins don’t need to be in the highest grading levels to be extremely valuable. In fact, the record sale for any 1977 Dollar is a silver MS63 coin that sold for $12,925 back in 2014. As these coins rarely hit auctions, it’s hard to know what their sale price would be today.

If there was ever an MS67 silver 1977 Dollar placed on auction, then it wouldn’t be a surprise to see it sell for over $100,000! Who knows, maybe one of these coins is sitting in someone’s attic, waiting to be found?

1977 S Proof Dollar

In 1976, proof dollars were made with 40% silver but that stopped in 1977. That leads many to think that there is a 1977 Silver Dollar but aside from the error with the Denver coins, it’s not true.

Proof coins are made to be the perfect examples of coins and are never intended for circulation. These coins are useful to check the quality of the dies and for archiving, but in modern times they are mainly sold to collectors.

As they were never circulated, it’s expected that these coins are in perfect condition. While an MS67 coin can be extremely valuable, a 67-rated proof coin would be barely worth more than its face value.

For these coins, they need to be graded at PR70 to have any significant worth. The record for a 1977 S Proof Dollar was $7,015. The average sale price isn’t too far below that at $4,000 but if you have a coin just one grade below at PR69, it’s likely to only be worth $75.

1977 Dollar Value Grading

If you’re not sure what we mean by the likes of MS67 or PR70, then you’re not alone. The numbers relate to a grading scale from 1 to 70, with 70 being perfect coins that don’t have any wear or blemishes at all.

“MS” stands for Mint State and is used for any circulation coins with a grading of 60 or above. The “PR” is for proof coins, which were never intended for circulation and meant to be kept as a collectible.

1977 Dollar Value Errors

There aren’t many errors on the 1977 Eisenhower Dollar, but there is an incredibly famous one in the coin-collecting world. Let’s look at all the error types here.

Silver Planchets

As mentioned in our section on the Denver coin, there were a very small number of 1977 dollars that were made on planchets that contained 40% silver. It’s thought that there are only just over a dozen of them in existence.

There were 40% silver coins made in 1976 and therefore it’s believed that these planchets were mistakenly used in 1977. If you happen to have one of these coins then they are extremely valuable and worth at least $10,000.

Brockage

A less valuable coin is a brockage. This is where a coin is blocking the die and that can cause a mirror image of the design to be placed on the next planchet fed into the machine. The more noticeable the damage, the more valuable the coin will be. Many of these are valued at over $1,000.

Die Cap

We mentioned that brockages are caused by a coin blocking the die, and this can turn into a die cap. Essentially, the stuck coin is struck so many times on the planchet below that it starts to wrap around the die and become domed in shape.

These can look a little like a bottle cap and can be extremely valuable. A highly graded version was sold in 2006 for nearly $30,000.

1977 Dollar Value – FAQs

Is the 1977 Eisenhower dollar rare?

The 1977 Dollar itself isn’t rare as nearly 50 million were made. You can still find many of them today in worn condition and valued at barely above their face value. If you wanted to collect all the Eisenhower dollars and weren’t too bothered about high grading, it can be easily done.

What makes a 1977 silver dollar rare?

What makes the 1977 silver dollar rare is that it doesn’t exist! Or at least, it shouldn’t exist. Many other Eisenhower Proof coins were made with 40% silver, but this stopped in 1976. However, there are very small number of 1977 D Dollars which were mistakenly made with 40% silver.

Which Eisenhower dollars are worth money?

There isn’t particularly one year of Eisenhower dollars which are worth much more than others. The high value of these coins comes from them either being in the very highest levels of grading, or if they have a very rare and unique error.

Conclusion

Owning a 1977 Eisenhower Dollar in perfect condition is likely to earn you a few thousand dollars if you decide to sell it. If you happen to have a 1977 Silver Dollar, then you could be sitting on a small fortune!