1935-S Peace Dollar : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

The 1935-S Peace Dollar was the final silver dollar struck for circulation at the San Francisco Mint. The total mintage of 1,964,000 coins was more than 400,000 higher than the Philadelphia issue from the same date, yet the San Francisco issue is considered scarcer in all grades.

Four Rays vs. Three: An Interesting Reverse Variety

An underrated collectible variety for the 1935-S Peace Dollar is the VAM-3, called either the “Four Rays” or “Extra Ray” variety. The Four Rays variety was discovered in 1939 by collector Olav Berghli, who noticed that some coins were struck with an extra ray that extends from the eagle’s bottom tail feathers to the “S” mintmark. On the normal (“Three Rays”) coin, there are only three rays present from the word ONE and below.

This popularly collected variety is not difficult to locate, and many high-end examples with this feature are known.

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1935-S Peace Dollar Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

The 1935-S Peace Dollar was among the many silver dollar issues discovered in the Redfield Hoard. The 12-ton hoard was comprised mostly of Morgan Dollars but did include a quantities of Peace Dollars, with several San Francisco issues represented. The coins of the Redfield Hoard were initially marketed in the 1970s by Paramount International Coin Corporation.

In the January 1976 issue of The Numismatist, silver dollar dealer John B. Love of the Record Coin Shop in Cut Bank, Montana, advertised that he was offering $1,900 for nice BU Rolls of this date.

In the August 1976 Numismatist, dealer Joel Rettew advertised that he had Gem BU examples of Redfield Hoard 1935-S Peace Dollars for $154.50 each.

In an August 1978 Numismatist ad, dealer George H. Ashley, Jr. of Capital City Coin Exchange in Richmond, Virginia, advertised GEM BU 1935-S Peace Dollars for sale at $220 each.

CAC, NGC, and PCGS have all adopted plus grading for high-end coins within the grade, but this overview of prices realized for CAC-approved coins graded MS66+ shows a wide range of prices realized. This indicates that buyers like some coins better than others. The astute collector or investor may wonder: Why adopt a grading system with 20 Mint State grades if some coins within a grade sell for $5,000 while others sell for $10,000 – and still others sell for over $20,000?

Top Population:  PCGS MS67 (4, 11/2023), NGC MS67 (4, 11/2022), and CAC MS66+ (2, 11/2024).

• NGC MS67 #3164450-007: Heritage Auctions, January 9, 2009, Lot 5119 – $18,400; “The Joseph C. Thomas Collection,” Heritage Auctions, April 30, 2009, Lot 2656 – $19,550. Three Rays. Brilliant. Tiny spot to the left of Liberty’s forehead. Small tick on the upper cheek. On the reverse, scattered hits on the eagle’s wing. Horseshoe-shaped dark spot at the coin’s center appears to be debris on the holder lens.
• NGC MS67 #585710-011: “The Robert Moreno Registry Collection of Peace Dollars,” Heritage Auctions, April 7, 2006, Lot 1235 – $27,600. Four Rays. Brilliant. On the reverse, hit across the rays above OL of DOLLAR.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #49296769: Heritage Auctions, December 12, 2024, Lot TBD – View. Three rays. Long cut along bust truncation. Diagonal tick above W. Very faint golden toning in isolated areas.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #38432628: Del Loy Hansen; DLRC, December 12, 2024, Lot 782333 – View. Three Rays.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #48782820: Heritage Auctions, May 10, 2024, Lot 4911 – $7,800. Three Rays. Champagne hue all over, with lilac and steel grey toning along the periphery.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #48384002: Heritage Auctions, March 28, 2024, Lot 3067 – $10,800. Four Rays. Champagne hue, with streaky gold and slate blue toning along the periphery.
• PCGS MS66+ #36777971: Heritage Auctions, September 14, 2023, Lot 3093 – $10,810. Three Rays. Brilliant.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #40660265: Heritage Auctions, July 20, 2023, Lot 3162 – $18,000.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #45562240: Stack’s Bowers, November 3, 2022, Lot 8263 – $14,400. Brilliant.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #41893128: As PCGS MS66+ CAC #38276324. Heritage Auctions, February 21, 2020, Lot 3891 – $6,300; Heritage Auctions, August 3, 2020, Lot 3371 – $5,160; Legend Rare Coin Auctions, February 25, 2021, Lot 278 – $5,522.50; As PCGS MS66+ CAC #41893128. Heritage Auctions, June 18, 2021, Lot 3607 – $6,600; Legend Rare Coin Auctions, April 28, 2022, Lot 293 – $6,756.25; GreatCollections, April 30, 2023, Lot 1356599 – View. Four Rays. Copper, red, and green toning on the obverse. Crescent toning at the bottom of the reverse.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #36200612: Heritage Auctions, February 24, 2022, Lot 3131 – $13,200. Four Rays. Curved hit between L and I. Tiny tick on the neck. Thin dragon hit on Liberty’s cheek near the hairline. Hit in hair to the right of Liberty’s eye. On the reverse, small hit on eagle’s talon and above the second E of PEACE. Brilliant.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #41415983: “The JDC Collection,” Heritage Auctions, August 20, 2021, Lot 4009 – $6,969.60. JDC on insert. Three Rays. Light gold hue on both sides.
• NGC MS66+ CAC #4240386-006: Heritage Auctions, August 20, 2021, Lot 4008 – $8,100. Three rays. Brilliant. Pronounced diagonal hit across cheek, followed by two other hits below eye. Rim hits at 9 o’clock. On the reverse, diagonal hit below second L of DOLLAR.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #40682418: “The Pittstown Collection,” Stack’s Bowers, March 26, 2021, Lot 5508 – $21,600. Three Rays Brilliant.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #38580663: Legend Rare Coin Auctions, March 26, 2020, Lot 372 – $9,693.75. Four Rays. Brilliant.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #38194599: Legend Rare Coin Auctions, December 12, 2019, Lot 529 – $10,281.25. Four Rays.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #37842662: Heritage Auctions, January 22, 2021 – $7.800; GreatCollections, August 25, 2019, Lot 618728 – View. Monterey Bay on insert. Three Rays. Scattered stains on the obverse. Annealing chatter in hair at center.
• PCGS MS66+ #38992324: Heritage Auctions, May 13, 2020, Lot 23434 – $5,040. Three Rays. Light copper hue on the obverse and reverse. Tiny hit to the right of Liberty’s eye. Orange and blue toning above the Y in LIBERTY. On the reverse, rim hits on eagle’s wing. Scratch between S and U of PLURIBUS UNUM.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #37728153: Heritage Auctions, January 10, 2020, Lot 4958 – $6,900. Four Rays. Brilliant.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #37221430: Legend Rare Coin Auctions, September 26, 2019, Lot 458 – $7,637.50. Four Rays.
• PCGS MS66+ #82129060: Heritage Auctions, February 16, 2017, Lot 3901 – $9,400; “The Five Generations of Eby Collection,” Heritage Auctions, January 11, 2019, Lot 5423 – $10,800; Four Rays. Brilliant. Hit on cheek. Deep diagonal hit in hair at ear area. On the reverse, copper toning spot below first A of AMERICA.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #80591947: Heritage Auctions, June 9, 2016, Lot 4754 – $10,575. Four Rays. Light gold hue, more pronounced on the reverse. Tick in the ray pointing directly to the eagle’s beak.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #18448416: “The DeMicco Family Collection,” Heritage Auctions, August 14, 2015, Lot 5912 – $16,450. MBJ on insert. Brilliant. Three Rays. Two parallel streaks on Liberty’s neck. Tick at the bottom of Liberty’s chin. Dark streak to the right of R on LIBERTY. Hit above lip. On the reverse, wispy toning on the left side. Two hits on the eagle’s leg, one deep.
• PCGS MS66+ CAC #29706121: Heritage Auctions, January 9, 2015, Lot 6295 – $15,275. Four Rays. Splotch of coffee-colored toning to the right of Y. Scattered toning across the top of the coin. Hits and squiggly scratches on neck.

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Coin Specifications

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