USA Coin Album: Peace Dollars, Attractive and Affordable — Conclusion

The three mints remained in full production of silver dollars during 1923, and their characteristics are fairly similar to their respective 1922 predecessors. Philadelphia produced coins having strong centers but weak peripheries and lettering, and many reveal extreme die erosion in the fields. Gems dated 1923(P) are plentiful but require some discrimination on the part of the buyer. 1923-D silver dollars are again more sharply struck than those of the other two mints and display bright, frosty luster. Die cracks remain more of an issue than for their cousins, and survivors seem to have suffered from the many years of bag storage that imparted numerous contact marks. Ditto for 1923-S dollars, which are again often satiny but troubled by very poor central details and many marks. These differences in strike and surface texture resulted from each mint having its own techniques of planchet annealing and collar preparation.

The Philadelphia Mint dollars coined during 1924 have curious, roughly textured surfaces that seem to be unique within the series. It may be that the mint was seeking a cure for the rapid erosion and loss of detail that characterized the two previous editions. Despite their odd look, 1924(P) dollars are readily available as Gems, though certainly less often seen than the 1922, 1923 and 1925 pieces. The San Francisco Mint again struck coins that have charming, satiny luster, but they are plagued with numerous and heavy contact marks that make Gems quite elusive.

1925-S $1 MS Click images to enlarge.

The two silver dollar issues of 1925 are a repeat of 1924, though the 1925(P) dollars have a normal, frosty texture. They are weakly struck in the mottos and legends, but otherwise have a quite pleasing appearance in higher grades, which are readily available. 1925-S dollars are very rare in the MS 65 grade or higher, being the rarest issue of this series at the Gem level.

1926-D $1 MS Click images to enlarge.

With the replacement of dollars melted under the Pittman Act having been nearly completed by 1926, mintages declined. Fortunately, large numbers of 1926-dated dollars survive from years of idleness within vaults. Though scarcer than preceding issues in overall numbers, there are enough Gems to make such coins affordable. The 1926(P) dollars come sharply struck for the most part, but 1926-D is consistently the most fully struck issue of this series prior to the new hubs of 1934-35. It makes a great type coin, despite being the rarest of the three mints in Gem grades. 1926-S dollars look like their 1924-25 predecessors but are more available grading MS-65 and higher.

The dollars of 1927 were a replay of 1926 in terms of their characteristics, but they are scarcer in overall numbers. Gems of all three issues are rare, though 1927(P) dollars are a little more available than the others. Smoother, almost satiny luster may be found for all three mints.

The silver purchased under the Pittman Act ran out early in 1928, and Philadelphia coined only 360,649 silver dollars. Had this issue been needed for daily commerce, Mint State pieces would be great rarities today. Of course, most of these coins resided in vaults for decades. Though Gems are quite scarce, lesser Mint State examples are plentiful. The same is true for 1928-S dollars, which tend to be satiny but quite heavily marred by contact marks.

1934 $1 MS Click images to enlarge.

New hubs adopted for the 1934-35 dollars resulted in coins that were more uniformly well struck, and they tend to have similar, frosty luster. Most of these dollars remained within vaults until the 1950s-60s, when they were finally distributed. Of the five issues dated 1934 or 1935, only 1934-S saw significant circulation. Not surprisingly, it is the scarcest of these five entries in Mint State, with gems being particularly rare.

David W. Lange's column, “USA Coin Album,” appears monthly in The Numismatist, the official publication of the American Numismatic Association.