The 1928 Peace Dollar: The Key Date Born From a Silver Meltdown
The 1928 Peace Dollar has a special place in the Peace Dollar series. It has the lowest mintage of any regular-issue Peace Dollar. It also has one of the most persistent backstories in American numismatics.
At the Philadelphia Mint, workers struck just 360,649 pieces. That tiny production figure created a key date almost by accident. Yet the story does not end there. Over time, a “cornerstone dollar” myth took hold. Then collectors chased the coin in Mint State. More recently, counterfeiters targeted it because every genuine example carries a premium.
A Dollar Coin That America No Longer Needed
By 1928, silver dollars no longer played a major role in daily commerce in the eastern United States. Most remained in Treasury vaults. Others sat untouched in bank vaults. Therefore, the Philadelphia Mint did not need to strike many new dollars for circulation.
However, the Pittman Act still mattered.
Congress passed the Pittman Act on April 23, 1918. The law allowed the melting of millions of silver dollars, mostly Morgan Dollars. It also required the government to replace those dollars later with newly coined silver dollars.
That legal obligation explains the Peace Dollar’s production history. It also explains why the 1928 Peace Dollar exists in such small numbers.
The Peace Dollar began in 1921. It replaced the Morgan Dollar after Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon approved the new design. The Commission of Fine Arts selected Anthony de Francisci’s model. His obverse shows Liberty wearing a radiant tiara. His reverse shows a bald eagle perched on a mountain and holding an olive branch. The eagle faces the dawn of a new day.
The coin’s message mattered. The Peace Dollar marked the end of World War I and the formal peace between the United States and Germany. Early design discussions included a broken sword on the reverse. However, critics saw the symbol as one of defeat. The Mint removed it before the coin entered production.
As a result, the Peace Dollar became one of America’s most symbolic circulating silver coins.
Why the 1928 Peace Dollar Has the Lowest Mintage
The 1928 Peace Dollar marks the end of the Pittman Act silver-dollar replacement program. By then, the nation had nearly completed its obligation.
Philadelphia struck only 360,649 pieces. That number sits far below every other regular Peace Dollar issue. The 1927 Philadelphia Peace Dollar, the next-lowest regular issue, has a mintage of 848,000. So, even the second-lowest issue more than doubles the 1928 total.
That gap gives the 1928 Peace Dollar its power.
Still, collectors should use precise language. The 1928 Philadelphia issue has the lowest mintage among regular circulation-strike Peace Dollars. Some references carve out a special caveat for the 1922 High Relief issue. However, that experimental issue does not change the 1928 coin’s status as the regular-series key date.
The “Cornerstone Dollar” Myth
The 1928 Peace Dollar soon inspired collector speculation. In February 1929, The Numismatist reported a claim that 1928 silver dollars had been struck “exclusively for cornerstone laying and other dedicatory purposes.”
The story spread quickly.
By 1942, the Handbook of United States Coins had repeated the claim. The myth then lasted for decades. Many collectors believed that the Mint had made the 1928 Peace Dollar for ceremonies rather than regular coinage.
However, the evidence does not support that claim.
Researcher Thomas S. LaMarre challenged the story in his January 1991 Numismatist article, “America’s ‘Cornerstone’ Dollar.” LaMarre noted that the Mint Director’s Report did not list any special ceremonial purpose for the 1928 dollar coinage.
Instead, Mint Director Robert John “R.J.” Grant described the year’s silver-dollar production in direct Pittman Act terms:
“Silver dollar coins executed subsequent to 1920 represent an equivalent number of dollars converted to bullion under the act of April 23, 1918 – 259,121,554 for export to India and 11,111,168 for domestic subsidiary coin.”
The Treasury figures also tell the story. As of December 31, 1928, the Treasury held 481,960,397 silver dollars. Federal Reserve Banks held another 11,526,004 pieces. Only 46,475,374 silver dollars counted as circulating.
Therefore, the Mint did not strike the 1928 Peace Dollar for a ceremonial fad. It struck the coin to close out a massive federal silver-dollar replacement program.
That makes the true story better than the myth. The 1928 Peace Dollar was not born from a cornerstone. It was born from one of the largest silver-dollar melting and recoining programs in American history.
Collecting the 1928 Peace Dollar
The 1928 Peace Dollar is scarce when compared to other Peace Dollar issues. However, it is not rare in Mint State.
Many examples survive in Uncirculated condition. Most certified Mint State coins fall between MS63 and MS64. Gems also appear with some regularity. Even so, demand remains strong because every date-and-mintmark Peace Dollar set needs the 1928 Philadelphia issue.
In higher grades, the market changes quickly. MS66 coins once represented the top of the population. Then PCGS and NGC certified MS66+ examples. That shift reduced some pressure on the MS66 grade over the past decade.
At least one top-population coin, the Illinois Set specimen, apparently changed dramatically between auction appearances. It appeared as PCGS MS66 in 2020. Later, it appeared as PCGS MS66+ CAC in 2023. Its toning had been removed, and the coin brought a much higher price.
Market Data
In July 1964, Oklahoma dealer Roy L. Baker offered a Brilliant Uncirculated 1928 Peace Dollar for $95 in Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine.
Then, in August 1978, dealer George H. Ashley, Jr. of Capital City Coin Exchange in Richmond, Virginia, advertised GEM BU 1928 Peace Dollars for $295 each in The Numismatist.
Top Population: PCGS MS66+ (2, as of June 2026), NGC MS66+ (1, as of May 2025), and CAC MS66 (6:2 stickered, as of May 2025).
Population reports count grading events. They do not always equal the exact number of surviving coins.
Counterfeit 1928 Peace Dollars: What Collectors Must Watch
The 1928 Peace Dollar’s key-date status makes it a major target for counterfeiters.
Many fake examples start as altered dates. The 1923 Peace Dollar is common. Therefore, counterfeiters sometimes alter the final digit in the date to create a fake 1928. On one example submitted to NGC, the “8” stood apart from the other digits. Under magnification, the tooling became clear. The forger also harshly cleaned the lower obverse. That cleaning likely helped hide the alteration.
Collectors should also watch for removed mintmarks. A genuine 1928-S Peace Dollar has a much higher mintage than the Philadelphia issue. So, a removed “S” mintmark can turn a less valuable coin into a fake key date.
Fortunately, genuine 1928 Peace Dollars came from only four obverse dies. Each die shows useful diagnostics:
One die shows a raised line that connects two strands of Liberty’s hair in the lower right.
A second die shows a raised line from the middle of the B in LIBERTY through the tiara. It also shows another raised line to the left of the E in LIBERTY.
A third die shows an oval patch of raised die polish lines inside the tiara to the right of the B in LIBERTY. However, circulation can weaken that diagnostic.
A fourth die shows raised lines that extend right from the lower part of the E in LIBERTY.
These diagnostics do not replace authentication. However, they give collectors a stronger first line of defense.
NGC also reported a deceptive counterfeit with a reverse design that did not match the date. The fake showed a 1921-style reverse. That matters because the 1921 Peace Dollar used a different high-relief design. The counterfeit displayed a third ray below ONE. Genuine later Peace Dollars, including the 1928, do not show that feature.
The same counterfeit also had mushy details, raised lumps on the reverse, and tool marks near the top of the obverse. X-Ray Fluorescence analysis confirmed another problem. Genuine 1928 Peace Dollars use a .900 silver and .100 copper alloy. The counterfeit tested at 92% silver, 5% copper, and 2.5% zinc.
Therefore, collectors should buy certified examples from trusted sources. Raw 1928 Peace Dollars deserve special caution.
Noteworthy 1928 Peace Dollar Specimens
PCGS MS66+ CAC #45945462
This coin appeared as PCGS MS66 #37728066 in Heritage Auctions’ January 9, 2020 sale, Lot 4298, where it brought $26,400. The insert noted the Illinois Set. At that time, the coin showed scattered aubergine toning along the upper periphery. Later, it appeared as PCGS MS66+ CAC #45945462 in Legend Rare Coin Auctions’ April 27, 2023 sale, Lot 373, where it realized $129,250. The coin gained a half-point upgrade and CAC approval. It also appeared conserved, with the toning removed. It shows a hit in Liberty’s hair and a planchet flaw on Liberty’s neck.
PCGS MS66 #25045946
Del Loy Hansen owned this coin. DLRC offered it on December 12, 2024, as Lot 782327. The holder carries a Hansen novelty insert. The obverse appears Brilliant. The reverse shows multiple dark brown and copper-colored toning spots.
PCGS MS66 CAC #42061129
This coin first appeared as PCGS MS66 #25664071 in Heritage Auctions’ October 29, 2015 sale, Lot 3466, where it brought $28,200. The insert named Ward T. Miller Jr. It later appeared as PCGS MS66 CAC #25664071 in Stack’s Bowers’ February 28, 2019 sale, Lot 1123, where it realized $33,600. CAC approval had been added. It then appeared as PCGS MS66 CAC #42061129 in Legend Rare Coin Auctions’ April 28, 2022 sale, Lot 287, where it brought $35,250. The coin later sold in Heritage Auctions’ October 6, 2022 sale, Lot 3135, for $44,400. The Miller pedigree had been removed. The coin shows gold and russet toning and a fingerprint at the bottom of the obverse.
PCGS MS66 #42609930
Heritage Auctions sold this coin on October 7, 2021, as Lot 3560, for $27,600. It later appeared in Heritage Auctions’ July 14, 2022 sale, Lot 3179, where it brought $25,200. The coin is Brilliant. It shows a deep hit on Liberty’s jaw. On the reverse, a rim hit appears under the U of UNITED.
PCGS MS66 #7455633
This coin appeared in Heritage Auctions’ April 28, 2011 sale of “The Paul Taylor Collection,” Lot 5309, where it brought $48,875. It later appeared in Heritage Auctions’ August 12, 2015 sale of “The DeMicco Family Collection,” Lot 4233, where it brought $39,950. The holder carries the JACK LEE insert and an Old Green Holder. The coin is Brilliant. It shows a small hit on Liberty’s jaw and another hit at the same height on the back of Liberty’s neck. On the reverse, a planchet flaw appears at the top of the N in UNUM.
Coin Specifications
- Country: United States of America
- Year of Issue: 1928
- Denomination: One Dollar
- Mintmark: None
- Mint: Philadelphia
- Mintage: 360,649
- Alloy: .900 silver, .100 copper
- Weight: 26.73 g
- Diameter: 38.10 mm
- Edge: Reeded
- Designer: Anthony de Francisci
- Quality: Business Strike
