1934-S Peace Dollar : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
The Peace Dollar was struck continuously from 1921 to 1928, after which no silver dollars were struck for five years. In 1934, silver dollar coinage would resume at all three facilities of the United States Mint before the denomination went dormant again after 1935.

Despite not having the lowest mintage of the series, the 1934-S Peace Dollar is considered the key date to the business strike series. Over one million coins were struck, all after October 26. Most entered circulation and only three or four bags worth were preserved in Mint State for collecting purposes. Those expecting this issue to turn up in the United States Treasury Department releases of the 1960s were disappointed.

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Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

The 1934-S Peace Dollar’s status as key to the series was apparent within a decade of its release. In 1945, the coin sold at auction brought $4.50 in Numismatic Gallery’s sale of the F.C.C. Boyd Collection. Five years later, the coin was listed in the Guide Book (Red Book) for $15, nearly four times more than the published price for the 1921 Peace Dollar and more than double the price of the 1925.

In the January 1976 issue of The Numismatist, John B. Love of the Record Coin Shop in Cut Bank, Montana, advertised that he was offering $11,500 for nice BU Rolls of this date.

In an August 1978 Numismatist ad, dealer George H. Ashley, Jr. of Capital City Coin Exchange in Richmond, Virginia, advertised GEM BU 1934-S Peace dollars for sale at $2,500 each.

A single example is perched atop the NGC condition census. This example was offered by Stack’s Bowers in August 2020, but failed to meet a $75,000 reserve.

The PCGS population of MS66+ coins has increased to nine. The first example to earn this grade was certified in 2018. The most recent coin to earn the grade was the D. Brent Pogue coin, which upgraded from MS66.

Top Population: PCGS MS66+ (9, 7/2024), NGC MS67 (1, 7/2024), and CAC MS66 (22:1 stickered:graded, 7/2024).

• NGC MS67 #5748628-008: Stack’s Bowers August 2020, Lot 1244 – $75,000 Reserve Not Met. Brilliant. Two tiny ticks across the cheek. 
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #38634073: As PCGS MS66 #9494324. Heritage Auctions, August 2007, Lot 1775 – $25,300. As PCGS MS66 CAC #38634073. “The D. Brent Pogue Collection, Part VII,” March 2020, Lot 7309; As PCGS MS66+ CAC #38634073.  Heritage Auctions, August 2024 – View. Upgraded by one-half point. Scattered speckled toning.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #48021855: Heritage Auctions, January 11, 2024, Lot 4188 – $55,200. Lustrous coin with clean surfaces. Scattered toning in vivid gold, green, orange, and magenta on both sides.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #38285277: As NGC MS66 #4630832-005. Heritage Auctions, October 11, 2018, Lot 3139 – $19,200; As PCGS MS66+ CAC #38285277. Legend Rare Coin Auctions, December 12, 2019, Lot 527 – $79,312; Heritage Auctions, February 24, 2022, Lot 3130 – $63,000. Crossed over to PCGS, where the coin upgraded by one-half point. Heritage Auctions, January 12, 2023, Lot 3802 – $78,000. Brilliant. Hit slightly above U in TRUST. Two small ticks slightly above G in GOD. Vertical rim hit above O in DOLLAR on the reverse. Horizontal hit across wing’s tail feathers and perch. Two small ticks on the reverse at 9 o’clock.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #43322045: GreatCollections, April 3, 2022, Lot 1011019 – View. Brilliant.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #42606152: As PCGS MS66 #05904952. Heritage Auctions, July 31, 2008, Lot 1804 – $23,000; Heritage Auctions, January 4, 2012, Lot 3385 – $18,400. As PCGS MS66 #24461393. Heritage Auctions, April 19, 2012, Lot 5193 – $20,700. Coin regraded. As PCGS MS66+ CAC #42606152. Heritage Auctions, December 16, 2021, Lot 3369 – $63,000. Coin upgraded one-half point. CAC-added. Scattered brown toning across the top and right side of the obverse. More scattered brown toning on the reverse. Black spot below P in PLURIBUS. Thin diagonal hit across field to the left of Liberty.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #40327696: Legend Rare Coin Auctions, February 25, 2021, Lot 277 – $70,500.

1934-S Peace Dollar, VAM-3, Doubled Die Obverse, Doubled Tiara

Top 50 Variety. Doubling on the tiara visible under glass.

• PCGS MS66 CAC #4975122: Heritage Auctions, January 11, 2024, Lot 4187 – $45,600. Scattered brown toning. Clean surfaces and may upgrade. VAM attributed by Heritage.
• PCGS MS65+ #25662220: Heritage Auctions, July 7, 2016, Lot 3972 – $9,987.50. Streaks of rust-colored toning across both sides. On the obverse, the lower left field is covered with this toning and there is a thin diagonal streak of it through the tiara. VAM attributed by Heritage.
• PCGS MS65 #11135577: Heritage Auctions, May 6, 2022, Lot 4493 – $7,500. Streaky gold toning at the bottom of the obverse. Criss-crossing scratches near corner of the lips.
• PCGS MS65 #816009917: Heritage Auctions, January 11, 2019, Lot 5419 – $6,300. Brilliant with scattered surface ticks in the fields.
• PCGS MS65 #5611870: “JC’s Dollars,” Heritage Auctions, January 5, 2018, Lot 5723 – $7,200. Streaky peach discoloration across Liberty’s hair. Fingerprint at date. VAM attributed by Heritage.
• PCGS MS65 CAC #25221025: Heritage Auctions, July 9, 2015 – $8,812.50. Scattered amber toning. VAM attributed by Heritage.

1934-S Peace Dollar, VAM-4, Doubled Die Reverse

PLURIBUS and rays doubled.

• PCGS MS65 #03655426: Heritage Auctions, November 2005, Lot 3801 – $6,900; Heritage Auctions, August 11, 2011, Lot 4933 – $6,612.50. Brilliant. Vertical hit across cheek. VAM attributed by Heritage.
• PCGS MS63 #6541959: Heritage Auctions, November 30, 2012, Lot 4431 – $3,290. Streaky rose toning. VAM attributed by Heritage.

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Design

Obverse:

The obverse is dominated by a leftward-facing bust of a young Miss Liberty wearing a tiara of rays that resembles the radiant crown upon the head of the Statue of Liberty. Most of Miss Liberty’s hair is contained within a bun at the back of her head, though several locks are seen hanging alongside her neck.

Arcing along the rim on the upper half of the obverse field is the inscription LIBERTY, and centered below the bust of Liberty near the bottom rim is the date 1934. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears in a single line of text across the lower quarter of the obverse and spreads across that field section, with the words IN GOD WE appearing to the left of Miss Liberty and the word TRUST located behind her neck. Dots appear between the words IN GOD WE and are also seen on the rim side of the words IN and TRUST. Sculptor Anthony de Francisci’s monogram AF appears below Liberty’s neck in the lower obverse field.

Reverse:

The depiction of an American bald eagle perched on a mountaintop anchors the reverse. Clutched in its claws is an olive branch symbolizing peace; notably not included in this eagle depiction is a band of arrows representing military strength, a symbol commonly seen in similar visages of the patriotic avian emblem. The rightward-facing eagle is seen at an angle partly turned away from the viewer and towards a sunrise, which symbolizes the promise of dawning peace in the world.

The bold rays in the image of the rising sun harmonize with the rays seen in Miss Liberty’s tiara on the coin’s obverse. The legend UNITED STATES oF AMERICA appears along the rim in the top half of the reverse. The motto E PLURIBUS UNUM is located directly below in lettering that is identical in size to the legend. The eagle’s beak breaks the bottom of the “S” in PLURIBUS and visually divides that word from UNUM; meanwhile, a dot punctuates the space between E and PLURIBUS.

The denomination ONE DOLLAR appears across the bottom third of the reverse in a single line of text, with the word ONE inscribed to the left of the eagle by its tail feathers and DOLLAR superimposed over the sun’s rays to the right of the eagle. PEACE is inscribed along the rim below the eagle, atop the rock on which the patriotic bird stands. The mint mark “S” is located beneath the word ONE near the tips of the eagle’s wings.

Edge:

The edge of the 1934-S Peace dollar is reeded.

Designer

Anthony de Francisci was born in Palermo, Sicily, in 1887 and emigrated to the United States in 1905. He began his career as a sculptor studying under such notable numismatic artists as James Earle Fraser, Hermon Atkins MacNeil, and Adolph Weinman. The Peace Dollar (1921-35) is his most famous creation, but he also produced several medals. He died in 1964.

Coin Specifications

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