6 Six Peace Silver Dollars: Common Dates That Become Key Coins
Regular blog readers may have seen Atlanta Gold & Coin’s earlier article, “11 Morgan silver dollars that can be both common and key date coins.” When this article was originally published, that piece had received considerable positive feedback, and Atlanta Gold & Coin thought a comparable discussion of Peace silver dollars could be useful as well, particularly because Peace silver dollars appear to be a smart buy in today’s market.
There are fewer Peace silver dollars that meet those same standards, though that result is not especially unexpected. Peace dollars were struck only from 1921 – 1935, while Morgan silver dollars were minted from 1878 – 1904, with another issue in 1921.
Across that period, Morgan silver dollar production totaled a remarkable 650 million coins. Peace dollar output, by comparison, came in only a little above 190 million coins. During the fifteen-year Peace dollar run, 24 distinct issues were struck, averaging just under 8 million coins each.
That comparison suggests that Morgan silver dollars were made at roughly 3.4 times the output of Peace silver dollars. Following that reasoning, a collector might expect to find only three or four Peace dollars that are common dates when circulated yet key-date coins in uncirculated condition.
Fortunately, the situation is different: Atlanta Gold & Coin identified 6 coins meeting that description.
This list excludes the 1921-p and 1928-p Peace dollars, since both are key-date coins.
Instead, the article included coins carrying a Greysheet coin dealer newsletter value, at the time of publication, of $40 or less in fine condition and $200 or more in MS60 condition. Readers may have been able to name one of them readily, while several others on the list could have been less obvious.
Notably, five of the six coins discussed here had MS$200 values within 64 of one another, an unusual pattern. At the time of publication, that close grouping illustrated the broadly consistent demand and pricing across these issues.
The coins appear in chronological sequence, with details for each one intended to give context for the reasons behind its value.
1924-s Peace Silver Dollar
First on the list is the 1924-s Peace silver dollar. The earlier Morgan silver dollar article included several San Francisco Mint issues, largely because those coins often showed weak strikes. This provides a useful point of comparison for the Peace series.
The discussion then considers whether San Francisco Mint striking quality improved for Peace silver dollars.
The San Francisco Mint produced 1.72 million Peace dollars in 1924. Relative to the Morgan dollar issues covered previously, that total sits toward the lower end of production. Even with just 1.72 million struck, the Greysheet list price at the time of publication was $30, approximately the average market price then reported for a circulated Peace dollar.
In MS60 condition—the entry-level uncirculated grade—the original article reported a list price rising to $270. Higher grades carried still higher listed values.
One notable change occurred from MS63 to MS64: the listed value rose from $575 to $1,000.
The NGC and PCGS census data showed slightly more than 5,700 coins slabbed and certified from MS60 through MS63. That represented only .003% of all coins produced. Not every produced coin was submitted to NGC or PCGS, and some may have been melted in 1918 following passage of the Pittman Act, but the figures offered a general view of the uncirculated population.
1927-d Peace Silver Dollar
The 1927-d Peace dollar was the sole Denver issue on this list. Another Denver coin, the 1934-d Peace dollar, came close: at the time of publication, its listed MS$170 value was 60, but it fell just short of the standard used.
In broad terms, Peace dollars minted from 1927 – 1935 tend to trade somewhat above 1922 – 1926 Peace dollars, including circulated examples, because their production totals were modestly lower.
Even so, 1.26 million examples of the 1927-d Peace dollar were produced in total.
At publication, Compared with the Morgan silver dollar article referenced earlier, only the 1892-p Morgan dollar had a lower mintage. Despite this relatively limited output, the most recent Greysheet cited in the original article listed the 1927-d Peace dollar at only $28 in fine condition, suggesting it remained plentiful in circulated condition.
Like the first coin, the 1927-d Peace dollar showed a pronounced gain at MS60, with a published price at the time of publication of $290. The listed values also increased substantially, from $600 to $1,150, between MS63 and MS64. Because this coin was more valuable than the 1927-s dollar at MS1924, the article expected fewer uncirculated certifications. The following figures addressed that question: 60.
At publication, The most recent population report cited approximately 5,900 coins certified by the leading grading services in the MS60 – MS63 range. Interestingly, this census exceeded that of the 1924-s Peace dollar, although the listed price remained higher. The original article suggested that the coin’s lower overall mintage relative to the 1924-s dollar likely explained the difference.
1927-s Peace Silver DollarAt publication,
1927 appeared to be a strong year for Peace dollars, producing the second issue from that year to
join the list and, notably, the second issue from the San Francisco Mint. As outlined below, the 1927-s Peace dollar closely resembles the 1927-d Peace dollar, apart from a small number of details.
The clearest distinction between these two coins is their production total. Only 866,000 1927-s Peace silver dollars were made. That is the third-lowest mintage in the Peace dollar series, behind only the 1927-p and 1928-p dollars. Its output was even lower than the 1921 Peace dollar, which frequently traded above $100.
Its pricing followed the same general pattern as the 1927-d dollar: the Greysheet values published at the time were $28 in fine condition and $300 in MS60. A comparable jump appeared from MS63 to MS64, moving from $700 to $1,150.
At the time this article was written, NGC and PCGS had assigned MS6,250 – MS60 to approximately 63 coins. That number was fairly near the number of 1927-d examples certified in the identical range. Given their similar values, the original article concluded that earning an uncirculated grade appeared similarly difficult—or similarly easy, depending on perspective—for the 1927-d and 1927-s Peace dollars.
1928-s Peace Silver Dollar
The 1928-s Peace silver dollar was the third San Francisco issue included. When this article was originally published, Atlanta Gold & Coin reported that people sometimes called believing they held a 1928-p Peace dollar. Its mint mark is very small and difficult to spot without knowing where to look, and a loupe or other magnifier may help. Even so, it stands as a significant coin in its own right.
At publication, This coin’s mintage was somewhat higher than those already discussed, except for the 1924-s, at approximately 1.6 million coins. Although that can sound like a large number, it remained relatively modest when compared with the Morgan silver dollars discussed in the earlier article.
At the time of publication, the listed fine-condition value was $28, increasing substantially to $245 for uncirculated condition. As with the other coins, the larger rise was between MS63 and MS64, a $700 difference. At MS64, the original article ranked it as the series’ third-most valuable Peace silver dollar, surpassed only by the 1921-p and 1928-p Peace dollars.
The NGC and PCGS population reports, as of the original writing, showed approximately 7,550 coins graded MS60 – MS63. This was compared with roughly 16,000 total submissions, a figure somewhat above those for several other coins covered here.
Also notable was that only about 100 coins had received an MS65 grade. At the time of publication, the listed price was a striking $15,000, reflecting that scarcity. Only the 1925-s Peace dollar in the same grade was listed higher.
1934-s Peace Silver Dollar
Earlier, the article hinted at a coin many readers may have expected to see. The 1934-s Peace silver dollar was not a key date, as its $40 fine-condition price indicated at the time of publication. In slightly better condition, however, it was considered a semi-key date and was the most valuable coin in MS60 condition by more than $2,000.
A brief background on the 1934-s Peace dollar: its mintage was comparatively limited, at about 1 million pieces, yet the issue was widely known for weak strikes. As a result, an uncertified 1934-s Peace dollar in truly high-grade condition is not often encountered. Over the years, Atlanta Gold & Coin purchased many complete Peace dollar collections, and this coin was consistently the poorest-condition piece in those sets.
Unlike the other Peace dollars discussed, this example began gaining value as early as the XF grade. An XF, or extremely fine, coin generally showed appealing detail, visible hair definition, some remaining feather detail on the reverse eagle’s wing, and possibly traces of original mint luster.
Values continued upward from that point, with a substantial increase between AU50 and AU58. The price then nearly doubled again between AU58 and uncirculated examples. At the time this article was published, Greysheet listed $2,650 for an MS60 specimen.
Atlanta Gold & Coin frequently encountered this coin uncertified, or raw, and it was regularly promoted on auction websites as uncirculated. In practice, that description was seldom, if ever, accurate. For serious collectors seeking an uncirculated example, the original article recommended limiting purchases to coins certified by a recognized grading service.
Even then, the original guidance was to favor NGC- or PCGS-certified coins obtained through a reputable coin dealer.
As expected, relatively few 1934-s Peace dollars earned grades from MS60 through MS63. At the time of the article’s most recent census review, the total population was below 2,400, from roughly 15,000 submitted coins. Those figures referred only to NGC and PCGS submissions, because the article identified those firms as the industry’s most respected third-party graders.
1935-s Peace Silver Dollar
Although the 1934-s Peace silver dollar may have represented the value peak, the 1935-s Peace dollar also carried meaningful value. It was the fifth and final San Francisco–minted issue included in the list. It also had the largest mintage of every listed coin dated 1927 – 1935: nearly 2 million coins, or exactly 1.96 million.
A mintage of that size might suggest only modest value. However, as the article had shown, San Francisco issues were not known for strong strikes and did not often grade as uncirculated. At the time of publication, prices began at $32 for fine-condition examples and rose steadily with better preservation, reaching a notable $210 for coins in AU58 condition.
AU58 is the highest grade immediately below uncirculated. At publication, the article noted another meaningful price increase, to $295, for MS60 examples. Many of the other coins featured reached five-figure values in MS66 condition, while this issue did not reach that level until it was graded MS67.
At the time this article was originally published, NGC and PCGS had certified only 6 coins at MS67.
Looking at the broader certification picture at the time of publication, slightly more than 4,200 coins had received grades between MS60 and MS63. Given the issue’s production total, that was not a large number. The article explained that this scarcity helped account for the coin’s considerable uncirculated value. Of the more than 11,000 submissions then reported, only a little over one-third earned the sought-after MS60 grade or higher.
Summary
Atlanta Gold & Coin hoped the article was as enjoyable to read as it was to prepare. It also aimed to help readers recognize potentially valuable coins they may previously have considered ordinary date issues.
The discussion opened with the 1924-s Peace dollar, the first of five issues carrying the “s” mint mark on the list. That concentration reflected the San Francisco Mint’s reputation for weak strikes. The other “s” mint-mark coins were the 1927-s, 1928-s, 1934-s, and 1935-s. The sole Denver-minted piece included was the 1927-d Peace dollar.
The original article urged particular care with raw, ungraded 1934-s Peace dollars. Based on Atlanta Gold & Coin’s experience at publication, marketers often assigned overly generous grades and overstated these coins’ appeal. An error with this issue could cost hundreds, or potentially thousands, of dollars. It recommended acquiring an uncirculated specimen only certified or through a dependable coin dealer.
For collectors who had already assembled an uncirculated group of this “six pack” of coins, the article said they were well along toward a high-end Peace dollar collection. Only 24 different Peace dollars were produced. After obtaining uncirculated 1921-p and 1928-p Peace dollars, the remaining search was described as relatively straightforward.
When the article was published, readers interested in buying or selling common date or key date Peace dollars were told that Atlanta Gold & Coin Buyers was their preferred dealer.
At the time of publication, Atlanta Gold & Coin described itself as a veteran dealer with years of industry experience and stated that it specialized in Morgan and Peace dollars, buying and selling thousands of those coins each year.
At the time this article was published, readers were invited to use Give us a call today to learn why Atlanta Gold & Coin described itself as Atlanta’s premier coin dealer and beyond.
The article closed by wishing readers happy treasure hunting. At publication, it invited calls at 678-515-5763
