A common Peace dollar is worth its silver content plus a modest premium, usually melt value plus roughly $3-10 in circulated condition. Each coin holds 0.7734 troy ounces of pure silver, so the floor rises and falls with the silver price. A few dates are worth much more: the 1921 high relief issue, the low mintage 1928 and the 1934-S lead the list, and several other mint marked coins carry solid premiums in uncirculated condition.
Peace dollars were struck from 1921 to 1928 and again in 1934 and 1935, at Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco. The design, by sculptor Anthony de Francisci, marked the end of the First World War: Liberty with a radiate crown on the front, and an eagle at rest on a mountain top, holding an olive branch, on the back. About 190 million were made, and the 1922 and 1923 issues alone account for more than half.
That means most Peace dollars in a family collection are common. They still have real value because of the silver, and the right date in clean condition is worth a great deal more.
The melt floor
A Peace dollar weighs 26.73 grams and is 90 percent silver, the same specification as the Morgan dollar. Multiply 0.7734 by the day's spot price to get melt:
- At $30 silver, melt is about $23
- At $40 silver, melt is about $31
- At $50 silver, melt is about $39
Worn common dates trade a little above melt, because both collectors and silver buyers want them. Even a damaged Peace dollar almost never sells for less than its silver.
Where the mint mark is
The mint mark is on the reverse, at the lower left, just below the word ONE and close to the tip of the eagle's wing.
- No letter: Philadelphia
- D: Denver
- S: San Francisco
The letter is small and sits near the rim, where wear is heavy. A straight-on macro photo of that spot, in daylight, settles it.
Common dates versus key dates
The common dates are 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925 and 1926, along with the 1922-D, 1922-S, 1923-S and 1926-S. These trade mainly on silver and grade. The scarcer dates are worth a premium at every level, but the gap widens sharply in uncirculated condition.
| Coin | Circulated (VF to XF) | Uncirculated (MS-63) |
|---|---|---|
| Common date (1922 to 1926 Philadelphia) | Melt plus $3-10 | $45-70 |
| 1922-D, 1922-S, 1923-S, 1926-S | Melt plus $5-15 | $60-120 |
| 1921 high relief | $150-250 | $500-800 |
| 1924-S, 1925-S | $40-60 | $250-600 |
| 1926-D | $40-60 | $150-250 |
| 1927 | $50-70 | $200-300 |
| 1927-D, 1927-S | $60-100 | $350-700 |
| 1928 | $350-500 | $700-1,000 |
| 1928-S | $50-80 | $500-900 |
| 1934 | $50-80 | $250-400 |
| 1934-D | $50-90 | $350-600 |
| 1934-S | $120-300 | $3,500-6,000 |
| 1935 | $45-70 | $150-250 |
| 1935-S | $50-90 | $450-700 |
Gem coins graded MS-65 and higher are a different market. A common date in MS-65 sells for about $150-250, and the scarcer dates reach thousands or tens of thousands.
The 1921 high relief
The first year of issue, struck in December 1921 with a deep, sculptural relief that wore down the dies quickly. About 1 million were made. The coin is easy to spot: the design stands higher off the surface, the rays of Liberty's crown are bolder, and the date is the only one with this look. In 1922 the relief was lowered for production, and a small number of 1922 high relief coins exist as major rarities, mostly in museum and top collections.
The 1928
Only 360,649 were struck in Philadelphia, the lowest mintage of the regular series. Because it was set aside early by collectors, worn examples are not as common as the mintage suggests, and the price stays high at every grade. Fakes made by removing the S from a 1928-S exist, so a close shot of the area below ONE matters.
The 1934-S
Plenty of 1934-S dollars survive in circulated condition, and they sell for a few hundred dollars. Uncirculated ones are scarce, which is why the price jumps tenfold or more once wear disappears. A coin that looks uncirculated but has a dull, satin or rubbed surface on the cheek is probably a high circulated grade.
The 1964-D
The Mint struck more than 316,000 Peace dollars dated 1964 at Denver in 1965, then melted all of them. None are known to have survived legally. Any 1964-D Peace dollar offered for sale is a fantasy piece or a counterfeit.
The 2021 issue
In 2021 the US Mint issued a new Peace dollar for collectors, struck in 99.9 percent silver. These are modern collector coins, sold at a premium by the Mint, and they usually trade near their issue price. The date and the purer silver make them easy to tell apart from the originals.
Cleaned coins
Cleaning is the most common reason a Peace dollar sells for less than expected. Older generations often polished silver dollars until they shone, which strips the original luster and leaves fine parallel scratches called hairlines. Under a single light, an original uncirculated coin shows a soft, satiny glow that moves as the coin tilts. A cleaned coin looks bright but flat, or has a scrubbed, slightly gray surface.
A cleaned common date is still worth melt plus a little. A cleaned key date loses a large share of its premium, often a third to two thirds. Leave toning alone: original toning, including deep gold or rainbow color, is often welcome to collectors.
Peace dollars were struck with a satin finish rather than the frosty, mirrored surfaces of many Morgans, so they rarely look as flashy. That is normal and not a sign of cleaning.
Grading and the professional route
PCGS and NGC are the two grading services that dealers rely on most. A graded coin comes in a sealed holder with a label showing the date, mint mark, grade and a serial number you can look up online.
- Worn common dates: not worth grading. They sell on silver.
- Uncirculated common dates: grading makes sense only if the coin might reach MS-65 or higher.
- Key dates and better mint marks: grading usually pays for itself, because buyers pay more for a coin they do not need to authenticate.
Counterfeit Peace dollars are made in large numbers, mostly in China, for both rare and common dates. Warning signs are a weight far from 26.73 grams, attraction to a magnet, soft details in the hair and feathers, and a gray or greasy look. Fake slabs also exist, so check the serial number on the grader's website.
Photos that settle it
- The reverse, straight on, with the mint mark area below ONE in sharp focus
- The obverse, straight on, in daylight without flash
- An angled shot under one light to show luster or cleaning hairlines
- The edge, to show the reeding
- A scale reading in grams if the coin feels light or looks wrong
If the same box holds Morgan dollars, the Morgan dollar guide covers the earlier series, and the inherited coins guide shows how to pull out the other silver quickly.