The two *good dates* in the Peace dollar series are 1921 and 1928:
PEACE DOLLAR DATED 1921:
worn: $45 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $90
well preserved: $120
fully uncirculated: $250
PEACE DOLLAR DATED 1928:
worn: $300 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $350
well preserved: $380
fully uncirculated: $500
Except for the 1921 and 1928 dates, the remaining coins in the Peace dollar series are generally worth their basic bullion value, plus a premium to account for buyer demand. 1922 and 1923 are the most common dates, but there are a few dates and mint marks which are quite valuable in grades above average circulated condition.
As the price of silver goes up, Peace dollars gain more and more value. Of course if silver runs downward, so do Peace dollars. A decent rule of thumb for most 'common date' silver dollars is to first take the price of silver (found on web sites such as kitco.com in US dollars per troy ounce), multiply it by 0.773, which is the number of troy ounces of silver in a US silver dollar, to get the base value or bullion value (BV) of the coin. For instance, if silver is selling at $20 per troy ounce, BV for a single Peace dollar is 0.773 x 20 = $15.46. Once you have the BV, add a collector premium to that number to get a retail value. The collector premium varies with date, mint mark, and condition, as follows:
COMMON DATE PEACE DOLLARS (see below for better dates):
worn: add $3 US dollars to BV
average circulated: add $5
well preserved: add $10
fully uncirculated: add $20
coins dated 1922 and 1923 are very common, divide the added premiums by two
The values derived from the calculation above (BV plus added premium) are those generally paid by collectors to buy problem-free coins. Peace dollars with problems like scratches, stains, nicks, gouges, cleanings, and the like are worth far less.
There are a few dates and mint marks which command higher added premiums if they are in fully uncirculated condition. These are:
1924S: add $200 to BV for fully uncirculated coins
1925S: add $80
1927D: add $200
1927S: add $200
1928S: add $200
1934D: add $150
1934S: add (are you ready?) $2000
All calculations above yield an approximate retail price. If you sell coins to a dealer, he or she will pay much less than retail in order to reserve a markup to keep the dealership solvent. You can learn about dealer markup in our discussion of 'catalog' value on our Terminology page. Typical markups for Peace dollars deduct 30 to 50 percent from the retail price of single coins. If you have a ton silver to sell, dealers will give you better deals, making up for markup percentage with sales volume.
Jacob at Great Southern Coins gave us permission to use his picture of the 1934S. It's a beauty. You have to squint to see the mint mark. Usually a magnifier is required to read it.
If you have a 1921 Morgan dollar instead of a 1921 Peace dollar (see this CoinQuest link), it is not valuable. It is worth about the same as a common date Peace dollar.
1921 is the year they switched from Morgan to Peace dollars, so it is the first year of issue for the latter. It turned out that the new Peace dollar design was very difficult to strike, and a lot of minting machines broke under the strain. After 1921 they changed the design by making it flatter. This means the 1921 coins are special and coin collectors love special things. The increased collector demand for 1921 Peace dollars drives the price up.
About CoinQuest | Privacy Policy | Contact CoinQuest
Copyright 2009 to 2024 CoinQuest.com, all rights reserved.
Daily visitors 310, minutes per visit 6.3, daily coin views 791