Incredible Bronze Proof Eisenhower Dollar!
Zoins
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There are a lot of great Eisenhower dollar errors out there, like the clover, but this one ranks up there as one of the most incredible to me as it's entirely in bronze! I love off metal pieces that are visually different and the color is really nice on this one.
A cool thing about this is that this isn't just any bronze planchet but one for a 1973-S US Mint medal, the San Francisco Cable Car Centennial medal. It's quite fitting that this was struck on a San Francisco mint medal planchet as it's a 1973-S coin! This is one of my favorite US Mint medals and I'm still on the lookout for one.
Has anyone ever seen anything like this? I'd love to see the mirrors in hand.
This was discovered by Mike @Byers and published in Mint Error News. Here are the close up photos along with a TrueView of the Mint medal. The MEN New Discoveries link has more photos, including the multi-coin slab, and a longer description so please click through.
Here's the US Congress Act that authorized the Cable Car Centennial medal.
This was authorized in October 1, 1973. That's not a lot of time to the end of the user to strike all these 1973-S medals.
Comments
That is amazing and must have been done by a Mint employee.
The link to the NGC 3 coin holder states the bronze in the holder is "a mint state 1973-S bronze Mint Medal commemorating the San Francisco cable car." That one is a Mint medal, but not the actual US Mint medal correctly shown below and in your True View above. The medal in the holder was struck by Medallic Art Company for the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, Pacific Coast Chapter in August 1973.
The actual US Mint medal was also struck in silver. I wonder why they did not also use a silver blank while creating this unique Ike? Here are two of my favorite examples of that medal in silver and bronze:
My US Mint Commemorative Medal Set
Looks like another of the San Francisco intentionally made fantasy pieces. It’s neat but the fact it is almost certainly a midnight mint product deflates it in my eyes.
TurtleCat Gold Dollars
The article is confusing.
The medal within the 3-coin slab is not a US Mint product and was not struck by the San Francisco Mint. It is irrelevant to the bronze Ike.
The planchet used could have also been intended for the San Francisco Mint souvenir medals.
Thank you for your comments correcting the article that does not match the NGC slab. We will correct this.
Great catch on the slab. You're right of course. I was so busy looking at full size photo that I overlooked the medal in the slab.
Those are great medals you have! I absolutely love the bronze! I've been looking for one forever. Let me know if you ever want to part with it
Good point. The Old San Francisco Mint medal is said to weigh 25g. Anyone know what the Cable Car medal weighs? And does anyone know the tolerance for these?
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/exonumia46857.html
The US Mint bronze is 25.7 grams, size 24 (38.1) mm. It is quite possible these are using the same blanks.
As far as the medals go, the small ones were struck at San Francisco, and they do have the S at the top of the reverse. However, the 3-inch ones were struck in Philadelphia and have the P like this one below. Those are very hard to find as only 250 were struck compared to 10,001 of the small ones.
My US Mint Commemorative Medal Set
The type I 1971-s proof is the most amazing coin for the Ike series as it is directly related to design issues and what either could or could not be done by the Mint or what would be acceptable as a design despite what could or could not be done by the Mint. What remains unfortunate is the lack of information retained by the Mint in connection with the decision and production surrounding the Type I and Type II reverses combined with a lack of interest for what is really the most fascinating proof coin of the second half of the twentieth century. Keep in mind that there are 11 known examples... but it is possible there are others yet to be discovered. And this seems to remain a mystery.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Cool Eisenhower but I’ve been searching for the 1973 cable car in silver and bronze forever!
I worked a deal out with a seller only to find out he couldn’t find it
So the search continues
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
I love fire engine red copper because I saw you have/had? the mated copper ike dollar crazy thing which caught my eye. But now this!!!! OMG. Toss out the Bugatti, this takes the Cup!
How Much??
The Mint Error News article has been corrected and updated.
Back in the early 1970s, there was a lot of hanky-panky going on at the San Francisco Mint. I went to presentation at a club where someone showed slides of a Proof Eisenhower Dollar struck on a cent planchet. A few months later, I saw an article where such items had been confiscated.
The OP item could be another example of "an error" from that era.
The 1973-P large 3-inch silver and bronze cable cars are very hard to find and are quite expensive to outbid others for them, as the bronze only had 250 struck, and the silver 550.
The small 1973-S versions had 10,001 struck each and show up fairly often. I went through a lot of them to find all the ones pictured above that are in my NCM set which is my main focus these days.
My US Mint Commemorative Medal Set
At the risk of hijacking this thread (my apologies in advance), here is my set of all three Cable Car Medals.
I've owned the small silver piece since it was issued in 1972. The medals were being sold all over San Francisco and I bought my copies from the downtown Woolworth's Coin Department that was located adjacent to the Powell St. Cable Car turntable. I think they cost me $2.50 each and I could have bought a dozen if I had that kind of spending money. I used to have a few more but can't find them. My brother also has a full set (so I know where 2 of the medals are
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Since I was only in the 8th grade at the time, I couldn't afford the 3 inch medal. But about 15 years ago, I finally found one. As Goldminers (and others) has observed, the bronze and 3 inch medal are very challenging to find.
If you can ever find the 3 inch piece, just buy it, you won't regret it. The medal is gorgeously struck with an attractive antiqued silver finish. Each are numbered - mine is #318. I also have the original box for the 3 inch medal with the number (318) written on an outside edge, and a copy of the Act of Congress that enabled the production of the medals that was included in the box. There's something satisfying about the heft of a medal that is made with nearly 10 ounces of silver in your hand.
I suppose I should make a lucite (aka Capital Plastics display) but I'm somewhat reluctant to take the medals out of their original plastic packaging.
Hi Mitchell
Thanks for sharing!
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send them to me. I’ll put them in some pcgs holders with trueviews.
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Ughhh, I want this baaad
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
That is a very nice set of high quality medals and a great story of your hunt for them. Thanks for sharing, and keep them in the plastic. Next year will be 50 years you have kept them intact!
This is a TV of #187. I have been on a quest for years to hunt down nice examples of the official NCM's to document them in TrueView's, so that there is a good photo record of them before they all disappear. These were only distributed close to the locations being commemorated, and as a result some are very elusive.
My US Mint Commemorative Medal Set
Very nice medals indeed.... I should have looked for these when I lived by SF... but that was back in the mid '70's and I was otherwise focused.
The Ike on the bronze planchet is amazing... I read the article, and likely was 'created' by an errant mint employee... but to sit in a collection, virtually unheralded, for so long, really surprises me. Cheers, RickO
ricko- the unique Bronze Ike $ was in a collection that was recently sold, and got certified immediately. It sat undisturbed in a plastic flip for almost 50 years.
Amazing that it's been in that collection, and apparently unknown to the wider community, for almost half a century!
I wonder if YNs today would consider this to be a classic or a modern?
Zions- the unique Bronze Ike $ is a modern classic😉
I’m not so sure, Mike. I think it might be a classic modern.😉
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
One thing I found interesting about this was the text.
Medals struck at the assay office may bear the legend "Struck at the San Francisco Mint"
In 1962, Congress changed the San Francisco Mint facility's status to an assay office so they seem to be one and the same.
Was this text put in because:
While the medal has a mintmark, has any US Mint medal had words like "Struck at the San Francisco Mint"?
Either way, it's a stand out coin and definitely belongs in the Top 100 Greatest U.S. Error Coins in my opinion. Any thoughts where it would rank?
None that I can recall, and most US Mint medals were struck at Philadelphia.
As far as the cable car medal, there were 2 of the smaller medals struck in 24kt gold and they were the first striking of gold at the SF Mint I believe since the 1930-S $10 Indian and $20 St.. One of the gold cable car gold medals is in the SF archives, the other was presented to President Ford, and I assume it is now in the President Ford library.
My US Mint Commemorative Medal Set
I agree. I've never seen that text and I've seen a lot of Mint medals. It would be great to have on one!
I didn't know about the gold ones. Thanks for posting that! Those would be incredible to see.
Mike @Byers - The Bronze Ike is awesome. For a follow up, be on the look out for a 1973-S proof Ike in gold!
Zions- in gold🤔
It was suppose to be a secret🤫
Back to the Ikes. These two errors at Heritage are also impressive to look at. One double struck, the other on a clad dime.
My US Mint Commemorative Medal Set
These are really nice. There's really an incredible selection for the Ike Dollar Error and Kennedy Half Error Collector right now. It's like being in a toy store. I like the double Earth on this one a lot. It reminds me of the the PCGS one below. This one is nice because one of the Earth's is well centered and neither Earth is covering E. PLURIBUS UNUM. It's like perfect positioning.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1030635/huge-double-struck-proof-ike-on-quarter-planchet-error/#latest
This dime planchet piece is nice since you can see both of their faces. This looks like it's a part of a clover. Imagine finding the two other pieces? It could be the collecting journey of a lifetime!
This other clover recently sold for $105,000!
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1056628/i-really-really-really-like-ike-3-piece-eisenhower-dollar-sells-for-over-100-000#latest
Yes amazing proof mint errors in the Heritage ANA auction this week!
Zions- it will be interesting to see if the proof Ike Dollar on the dime blank in the Heritage Auction is eventually mated to another proof Ike Dollar on a dime blank, since it’s part of a mated pair!
Agreed. I'm thinking it might even be a clover given the number of corners on it. It could be a fun set to build
By the way, this is a nice one because it looks like Ike is wearing a space helmet!
Wow! Back on MintErrorNews.com with updated photos! It's also a MEN Cover Coin now!
https://minterrornews.com/discoveries-7-29-21-ngc-certifies-unique-proof-ike-struck-on-a-bronze-us-mint-medal-planchet.html
The fields look a lot more reflective and gorgeous in the updated photos (which have been added to the OP). It would be great to see this one in hand or have a video. The size is also impressive, like a gold slug! What's the diameter on this? Now where's the drooling emoticon?
It must be amazing to hold in hand
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
It’s heavy, it’s larger since it’s broadstruck, and an amazing bronze color...
None that I can recall, and most US Mint medals were struck at Philadelphia.
I didn't know about the gold medals either. I would have loved to see this medal struck in gold.
Wow! Check out this clad Broadstruck 1973-S Proof Ike!
Would these two coins not make the perfect pair?
Now, we just need a silver proof to go with these two!
Zions- That’s a perfect visual match for the Bronze Ike!
I agree. The mirrors look amazing on both of these Cameo pieces!
Zions- they are very well matched! One in clad and one in bronze.
Clad never looked so good!
Calling @cladking !
The unique proof Bronze Ike Dollar was just sold to a well- known collector of famous Ike Dollar rarities. More information will be shared when he is ready, and he might display it at the FUN show.
Congrats on the sale of the exceptional Bronze Proof Ike
@ErrorsOnCoins said:
“ Congrats on the sale of the exceptional Bronze Proof Ike”
Thanks Chris!!
It’s definitely a unique and spectacular Ike Dollar!
Congrats Mike! It would be awesome if this was shown at FUN! I would love to see it in person! It’s wonderful that it went to a well-known collector of famous Ike dollars.
From a provenance perspective, I hope he becomes public and all the owner names are added to the slab pedigree. It would also be great to see this in a set with his other Ike dollars!
Can you say if he primarily focuses on errors or if he has top ranked Ike registry sets as well?
@Zoins
Thanks Zoins!
I will ask him if he is ready.