A Collector Paid $10 for an Old Eisenhower Dollar. It Just Sold for $189,000

A 1971-S Eisenhower dollar prototype (Judd-2147), purchased for under $10 at the Long Beach Coin Expo in 2008, sold for $189,000 at GreatCollections on October 18, 2026. The coin is one of only three known examples and features an earlier reverse design with extra lunar craters that was altered before mass production of the Ike dollar began. The roughly 19,000-fold return on the original purchase price underscores how rare numismatic prototypes can command prices far exceeding typical bullion or circulated coin values. The sale highlights continued strength in the rare-coin auction market, where scarcity and die-trial status drive premiums. Collectors and dealers will be watching whether the remaining two known examples surface at auction and whether prototype material from other 1970s denominations attracts similar demand.