1977 Eisenhower $1 Coin

With America’s Bicentennial celebrations in the rearview mirror, the quarter dollar, half dollar, and dollar reverse designs reverted to their regular designs. For the 1977 Eisenhower Dollar, that meant the return of United States Mint Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro’s sculptural rendition of Michael Collins’ Apollo 11 mission patch.

While most people associate NASA and the moon missions with President Kennedy (and rightly so), it was President Dwight D. Eisenhower who signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law in 1958. Eisenhower was a strong supporter of America’s space program and accelerated the government’s spending on programs, such as the Saturn rocket. Eisenhower died on March 28, 1969, nearly four months before the Apollo 11 moon landing captivated the entire world.