(n.)
Slang.
“Brown Pack” is the name given to the packaging of Proof silver-clad Eisenhower dollars manufactured between 1971 and 1974. The term refers to the brown, woodgrain-print box used to house the plastic lens holding the silver Proof coin.
Brown Pack Ikes sold for $10 each – an unheard-of price at the time. Criticism for the pricing scheme grew louder when the United States Congress diverted a portion of the proceeds to help fund the private Eisenhower College in 1974.
Discovery of the Nixon Presentation Dollar
In 2013, Ike dollar collector Andy Oskam encountered a 1971-S Eisenhower Proof on eBay that was in packaging similar to but not quite the same as the standard Brown Pack. It had similar skeuomorphic wood grain printed cardboard but it also prominently featured a golden Presidential Seal and a facsimile of then-President Richard M. Nixon’s signature. The seller stated that it had been part of a presentation ceremony at which a handful of VIPs–including former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower–had been in attendance. PCGS later attributed Andy’s coin as a “Type 1 Reverse: Nixon Presentation” and gave it a grade of PR67CAM.
Examples are quite rare, with fewer than 10 known. An example graded NGC PF67UC sold at Legend Rare Coin Auctions’ February 2023 sale for $30,550.
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