The Peace dollar.
The name alone is intriguing for both collectors and investors alike. In fact, many aren’t aware of the inspiration or history of the design. The coin was designed to commemorate a time of peace following the end of World War I in 1918 and that is exactly what renowned medalist Anthony de Francisci had in mind when he finalized the look.
The coin features a crowned Lady Liberty on the obverse (or front) and a prominent portrait of a perched American eagle overlooking a sunrise on the reverse (or back). The Peace dollar was minted from 1921-1928 and again in 1934 and 1935.
Peace silver dollars hold a special place in the hearts of collectors, having graced the pockets of wealthy Americans during the infamous Roaring Twenties, and carried us through the blight of the Great Depression. The Peace dollar circulated through the best and worst of times and is the last dollar coin minted for general circulation that contains 90% silver.
With respect to popularity, the Peace dollar is only eclipsed by the Morgan dollar in terms of demand and collector interest.
With that said, we’ll share with you some factors that have elevated the Peace dollar to a level of prominence among the investor and collector community and why you should consider investing in this significant series of coins.
True Scarcity
Peace silver dollars were minted following World War I, at a time when the United States was in dire need of additional currency. As a result, most Peace silver dollars were placed directly into circulation. Most of today’s Peace silver dollars show evidence of regular use and have somewhat nominal value outside of their silver content highlighting the importance of separating rare dates, mints, and quality coins.
Furthermore, when silver hit $50 an ounce in 1980, hundreds of thousands of classic silver coins were sold to refiners and melted down for their silver content. The “Great Melting Pot” of 1980 dramatically decreased the known number of surviving Peace silver dollars and other classic coins.
Existing market supplies of Peace silver dollars are now lower than the original 190.5 million coins produced, and their value is likely only going to increase over time.
Relative Bargain Buy
While no one knows exactly how many Peace silver dollars exist today, it’s a safe bet that the survival rate is a good bit less than the original mintage, for reasons such as those highlighted above.
Considering this, the Peace dollar is still a relative bargain when compared to other classic or numismatic silver coins, and in fact, their premium is consistently less than Morgan silver dollars. Despite a strong surge in the demand of physical silver, these coins still don’t trade substantially above their silver value. In fact, at the time of this writing, even American silver eagles are trading at higher levels than Peace silver dollars.
For comparison, the next closest series, the Morgan silver dollar (1878-1921) is selling at $2 – $6 higher than Peace silver dollars in the same condition, depending on the year or year range. Keep in mind, the Peace silver dollar holds hidden value in the brevity of its series and its historical significance, making its current price a relative bargain.
Evaluate your Coins
Before we get into deeper detail on expanding your coin collection through rare dates and mints, it’s important to understand the basics behind grading and evaluating old coins. When evaluating Peace silver dollars, be aware that there are four general grades that coin dealers and collectors use to determine the worth of an individual coin: Cull/Off-quality, Fine to Extremely Fine, Almost Uncirculated and Uncirculated.
When coins are certified or professionally graded by a third-party grading service (TPGS), such as NGC or PCGS, a 70-point grading scale, originally developed by William Sheldon, is used to further identify the condition within various grades of coins.
For the Peace silver dollar, pay extra attention to the hair detail of Lady Liberty and feather detail of the eagle. These are considered the “high points” on the coins and are the first to show evidence of wear. The fewer contact marks, evidence of wear, and the more robust the mint luster, the higher the grade, and subsequently, the more valuable the coin.
The highest quality available is an uncirculated specimen of the coin. The grading scale for uncirculated coins is MS60 – MS70. To date, no MS70 grades for Peace dollars exist, at least for the classic series issued from 1921 – 1935. The modern commemorative Peace dollars issued in 2021 are a different story and regularly receive an MS70 grade.
The reason for the lack of MS70 grades on the classic or original Peace dollars is that when these coins were minted, they were tossed in 1,000 count or $1,000 face value canvas bags by the mint. They were then transported to banks, where further handling took place. This resulted in some level of contact marks on all the coins.
Having never been put through the wear and tear of circulation, many uncirculated coins retain their original mint luster and look like they’re fresh off the minting press.
Considering that the process of evaluating the condition of a coin is naturally subjective, those coins certified by an unbiased third-party grading service tend to trade at higher rates than their raw counterparts. That being said, not all TPGS are viewed in the same light, so we recommend that you only acquire certified coins from the leading TPGS in the industry.
Rare Peace silver dollars
As always, there are a few key rare dates and mint marks to be aware of when collecting Peace dollars. The first Peace dollar was produced in 1921 as a high-relief coin with a mintage of approximately 1,000,000 coins. These coins, on average, trade for $75 – $150 in circulated condition. The high relief strike created some challenges for the U.S. Mint, as they were only able to produce a limited number of coins with each die, which is why the mint transitioned to a lower relief strike beginning the following year.
The rarest and most valuable Peace silver dollar, at least in circulated condition, is the 1928-P or Philadelphia-issued dollar with a mintage of 360,000 coins. Prices can vary anywhere from $150 – $300, depending on the coin’s condition. Inspect the reverse side of the coin below the word “One” for a mint mark. A mint mark is a letter designating where the coin was produced. If it doesn’t have a mint mark, then the coin was produced at the Philadelphia mint. In the case of the 1928 Peace dollar, this is the preferred and more valuable of the two coins.
Another coin to pay particular attention to is the 1934-S Peace dollar; its value varies substantially based on the condition of the coin, with a starting price of approximately $30 – 40 in “fine” condition. Its value begins to increase at the Extremely Fine (XF) level or grade and reaches an impressive value of over $2,000 in uncirculated condition.
Be prepared to pay a hefty premium for key date coins or coins that are difficult to find in high-end condition; especially those that have been certified or professionally graded.
Conclusion
In summary, we’ve shared some compelling reasons why you might want to consider investing in or collecting Peace silver dollars. We began our discussion with a brief history of the coin and the total number of coins originally produced. Of course, many have found their way into the melting pot over the years, which makes these coins rarer than it would appear on the surface.
We then talked about the affordability of the coins relative to the spot price of silver and as compared to a couple of other silver coin options. Of course, not all Peace silver dollars trade at the same rate, which is why the condition of the coin matters. The condition of Peace dollars is typically broken out into four different categories, and in general, coins that have been certified by a leading TPGS trade at higher rates than raw or ungraded coins.
We wrapped up our discussion with a list of three Peace silver dollars that tend to trade at higher prices due to their rarity. The 1921 Peace dollar is the only high-relief coin in the series. The most valuable circulated condition Peace dollar is the 1928-p dollar. While a common date coin in circulated condition, the 1934-s Peace dollar begins trading at a premium in higher grades.
We hope you found this information helpful and that it allows you to maximize your experience when buying, selling or collecting Peace silver dollars. Whether you’re in the market to buy or sell Peace dollars, Atlanta Gold & Coin Buyers, one of the industry’s leading silver dollar coin dealers, can help you meet your goals.
Happy Treasure Hunting!
