Peace Dollar Series Guide: Key Dates & What’s It Worth?

The Peace dollar (1921–1935) replaced the Morgan with a design born from World War I’s aftermath — and the short-lived series hides some of the 20th century’s best key dates, from the high-relief 1921 to the low-mintage 1928.

Series history

The Peace dollar was authorized by the Pittman Act to replace the silver dollars melted under that 1918 law; Anthony de Francisci won the design competition with his modern Liberty crowned like the Statue of Liberty (Numismedia; JM Bullion).
The series was struck in two runs: 1921–1928 and 1934–1935, with no Peace dollars issued from 1929–1933 (Numismedia).
At the common end of the scale, the 1922 Philadelphia issue topped 51 million pieces — the affordable Mint State type coin of the series (Wikipedia).
The 1921 Peace Dollar was struck in high relief — dramatic but impractical for circulation — and the design was flattened for 1922; the 1921 is a one-year type required for both a Peace dollar set and a U.S. type set (Numismatic News).
Total production across the classic series was about 191 million pieces (Wikipedia mintage table).
The series ended with the 1934–1935 issues; Congress authorized a 1964-dated revival, but those coins were never released (see our 1964-D Peace Dollar entry).

Key dates

1921 Peace Dollar — first year, high relief only, 1,006,473 struck at Philadelphia; more expensive than its mintage suggests because collectors hoarded it and it is a one-year type (Numismatic News; Wikipedia).
1928 Peace Dollar — the series’ lowest regular mintage at 360,649, but widely saved after the Mint announced limited production, so prices run lower than the mintage implies (Wikipedia; PCGS CoinFacts via eBay).
1927-D Peace Dollar — 1,268,900 struck; the scarcest Denver issue and a better date in Mint State (Wikipedia).
1934-S Peace Dollar — 1,011,000 struck and not saved in quantity, so circulated examples are affordable but mid-grade uncirculated pieces run into the thousands (Wikipedia).
1934-D — 1,569,500 struck; the Denver return issue is scarcer in high grade than its mintage suggests (Wikipedia).
Condition rarities: San Francisco issues of most dates are tough in high grades because fewer survived — the 1924-S and 1925-S join the 1928-S and 1934-S as condition keys (Numismatic News).

What drives the premium

Mintage vs. survival: the 1928 proves low mintage isn’t everything — heavy saving kept prices in check — while the unsaved 1934-S commands real premiums in Mint State (Wikipedia).
High relief: the 1921’s sculptural relief makes it the most dramatic Peace dollar; strong strikes bring premiums (Numismatic News).
Grade: most dates are worth little more than bullion in circulated grades per the Red Book, but Mint State 65 and better multiplies value sharply (Wikipedia).
San Francisco premium: S-mint Peace dollars survived in smaller numbers across the board, so they lead their Philadelphia counterparts in high grade (Numismatic News).

Specifications

Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper (JM Bullion)
Weight: 26.73 g (0.7734 oz pure silver) (JM Bullion)
Diameter: 38.1 mm (JM Bullion)
Edge: reeded (JM Bullion)
Designer: Anthony de Francisci (Numismedia; JM Bullion)
Years: 1921–1935 (none 1929–1933; 1921 high relief only) (Numismedia)
Mint marks: none (Philadelphia), D (Denver), S (San Francisco) (Numismedia)

Collector notes

The Peace dollar set is short — just 24 regular date-and-mintmark combinations — making a complete set an achievable goal compared with the Morgan series (Wikipedia).
Watch for the 1935-S with four rays versus three rays, a recognized variety that carries a premium (Numismatic News).
The design’s low-relief fields show bag marks readily; original luster and clean cheek on Liberty separate premium Mint State coins from sliders.
Modern Peace dollar commemoratives (2021–date) are separate NCLT issues — this guide covers only the 1921–1935 circulation series (Wikipedia).