First depicted in the 1999 Nov-Dec issue of ERRORSCOPE and covered briefly in March and April issues of COIN WORLD, the “FRIENDLY EAGLE PATTERN” (”FEP”) received its name and a more detailed accounting in the July 2007 issue of NUMISMATIST, an article for which I was lead author. (Close up pictures below)

ADDENDUM: as of the Fall of 2007, The Ike Group has decided to rename this Ike the “FRIENDLY EAGLE VARIETY” (”FEV”). Expert concensus was that “Pattern” is not appropriate for coins that get into circulation through normal production, even if the dies involved are “pattern” dies whose use making production coins was unintended. So, even though we still prefer the evocative richness of “pattern”, we decided to fall back to “Variety”.

The “FEV” is cataloged RDV-006 (Reverse Die Variety 6) but it has such an interesting story it deserves a descriptive name so we gave it one. Part of that story is the political pressure brought to bear on Frank Gasparro’s original reverse design, set against the backdrop of “Mutual Assured Destruction” (”MAD”), Cold War with the USSR and the back and forth from Frank’s initial sketch design (fierce), to the subsequent approved High Relief design (peaceful) (used also on the 1971-S High Relief Ike Proof), to the re-worked Low Relief design (fierce) (used on all 1971 Ni-clad Ikes except the FEP).

In all this design turbulence in the 1971 Ikes, the FEV reverse design stands out because it is unique: it is in Low Relief, has the peaceful Eagle but otherwise in most of its details it is different both from the High Relief 1971-S Proof and the normal Low Relief 1971-72 reverse design and few of its unique features were picked up in subsequent Ikes. We thus were comfortable using “Pattern” in its new name until we got out-voted..

Although we have tried hard to find an obverse marker for the FEV we have found none, so you will need decent photos of the reverse to spot it on .

The reverse differs in the following (and other) specifics:

- the Earth is round and the land masses have greater definition;

- the major caribbean islands appear as a connected chain of 5 islands and they point further South;

- the Gulf of Mexico is rounder;

- there is no “furrowed brow line” above the eagle’s eye and various tail and body feathers are treated differently giving the eagle a “friendlier” appearance;

- the flow lines on the larger craters are heavier, sometimes longer and different. On a good picture the larger right-hand crater looks more like a sea creature than a lunar crater.

As I explain in the NUMISMATIST article, the existence of 5 to 10% of normal 1971-D Ikes struck on what clearly look like proof planchets, in addition to several other telling details, indicates that the FEP dies may have been intended to strike a 1971 Low Relief Ni-clad Ike Proof.

Our “Ike Group” has found the FEP in rolls and holders at a rate consistent with a mintage of around 500,000, on a par with the 1972 TYPE 2. Both of these Ikes can be found with patience although MS64 and above examples are distinctly uncommon.

DIFFERENT ISLANDS AND GULF - NO DEEP BROW LINE - LONGER, HEAVIER CRATER LINES

.

The FEP comes with four different “D” Mint Mark placements and four different doubled dies including a monster DDO/DDR, a less dramatic DDO/DDR and two different DDO’s. Curiously, the DD versions are distinctly rare for which we have no explanation.

THE BIG DDO/DDR

THE LESSER DDO/DDR

Rob Ezerman, always interested in your comments or questions so please feel free to contact me through my identity, doctortrader.

Rob