2015 Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Dollar Coin : A Collector’s Guide

The Presidential Dollar Coin Act (Public Law 109-145 – PDF Link) was passed into law on December 22, 2005. The Act compelled the Secretary of the Treasury to “mint coins in commemoration of each of the Nation’s past Presidents and their spouses, respectively, to improve circulation of the $1 coin, [and] to create a new bullion coin”. The architects of the law, citing the success of the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program, believed that the introduction of regularly changing designs would radically increase demand for a $1 coin, which, despite early signs of consumer interest, had failed to achieve widespread use after its debut in 2000.

The first four Presidential dollar designs debuted in 2007. Like the Sacagawea dollar that preceded them, the coins found little public support in commerce. In 2011, the United States Mint curtailed the production of the Presidential (and Native American) dollar coins and began to strike them solely for the purpose of selling them to collectors.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower $1 Coin is the second of four Presidential dollar coins issued in 2015.

Eisenhower Presidential Dollar Coin Design

Obverse:

Joseph Menna’s effigy was adapted from President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s May 29, 1959 official photo portrait. For the coin, Menna flipped Eisenhower’s orientation, presenting his subject tilted slightly to the left. Menna’s bust retains the texture of Eisenhower’s jacket but loses the pattern on the tie. Menna signs the piece “JFM” on Ike’s left shoulder near the bust truncation. Wrapping around the coin, inside the thick rim are the inscriptions DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, IN GOD WE TRUST, 34th PRESIDENT and 1953-1961.

Reverse:

Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart’s reverse design features an ant’s-eye view of the Statue of Liberty offset to the left. On the coin, Liberty occupies bottom right quadrant of the coin, her extended elbow being the coin’s center point. The design is framed by a thin inner circle, which separates the graphic design from the coin’s legend, which reads UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Beneath Liberty’s extended torch-bearing arm is the denomination $1. This is the common reverse design for all Presidential Series $1 coins.

Edge:

The edge of the 2015 Eisenhower Presidential dollar coin is lettered and features the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM, the mint mark (P, D, or S), 2015 (the year of issuance), and 13 five-pointed stars.

Designers

In 2015, Joseph Menna celebrated his 10th year at the U.S. Mint. His designs have appeared on a number of U.S. coins and medal products (View Designer’s Profile). Menna became Chief Engraver in February 2019.

Don Everhart joined the United States Mint sculpting and engraving department in 2004, after a long and successful career as a sculptor and designer of medals. He retired in July 2017 (View Designer’s Profile).

Coin Specifications

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