By CoinWeek ….
On Sunday, July 26, bidding ends on GreatCollections.com for this 1928 Peace silver dollar, graded MS-66 by PCGS and approved by CAC.
At 360,649 coins, the 1928 Peace dollar struck in Philadelphia has the lowest mintage of the entire series except for the 1922 High Relief variety. The coin’s rarity was appreciated when it was released, and so, thanks to the many collectors who saved them at the time, most surviving specimens of this key date are in Mint State.
Higher Mint State, however, is a different matter. PCGS reports a mere 23 examples as graded MS-66, and only one piece grades higher at MS-66+. With CAC approval, the present coin is on the higher end of 66.
Prices for the PCGS MS-66 1928 Peace dollar over the last few years average to around $30,000 USD, which is where GreatCollections has decided to start the bidding. Most recently, a piece sold in January of this year for $26,400, but in March 2019 an example sold for $33,600. In August 2018, a specimen went for $28,800, and in May of that year another 1928 garnered $29,375. In January 2017, an example sold for $27,025.
As for the 1928 Peace dollar’s performance on GreatCollections.com, be sure to check out the company’s Auction Archives of over 600,000 certified coins sold in the past seven years.
Series Collectibility and the Market
Demand for the Peace dollar has been high for many years. Along with the Morgan dollar, it is one of the most popular series of United States coinage to collect. However, the Peace dollar is a shorter and more affordable series to complete than the Morgan series.
Running from 1921-28 and 1934-35 (skipping over the worst of the Great Depression), the entire series includes only 25 dates and major varieties – though the 1921 and 1922 High-Relief Peace dollars will present some difficulty. And once a collector is ready to upgrade their coins or move deeper into the series, a few recognized prooflike issues and a number of VAM varieties can provide that extra challenge.
But if you’re looking for Gem-quality coins and beyond, the Peace dollar series reveals itself to be a serious challenge.
A complete collection of Peace dollars in MS-65 has a market value today of about $79,250, while a set in MS-66 (with a 1925-S in MS-65) costs approximately $250,000 (keep in mind that these prices are for sight-unseen coins certified by either PCGS or NGC; premium quality coins, including coins with high eye appeal, pristine surfaces, and CAC-approval, may cost multiples of these amounts).
The Peace Dollar – A “Classic” Modern
Beyond being one of America’s classic silver dollar types, the Peace dollar served as a circulating commemorative marking the end of hostilities in the First World War. Both politicians and numismatists advocated for a business strike coin to honor both the Allied victory in the “Great War” and the restoration of peace on the world stage–not to mention the return of a silver dollar to American pockets. Many stories have been told about the infamous numismatist Farran Zerbe and his lobbying efforts on behalf of the Peace dollar, but according to some experts, it isn’t certain that he had any real involvement.
Of course, one important aspect of the Peace dollar’s popularity is Anthony de Francisci’s classic design. Sometimes referred to as the “flapper” dollar, the obverse features a modern-looking Lady Liberty–using de Francisci’s wife Teresa as a model–that contrasts greatly with the previous Morgan dollar Liberty. The reverse features an eagle perched on a rock observing a brightly shining sunrise. It holds an olive branch in its talons and has its wings down, symbolizing the end of the war effort and the welcome beginning of peace. The reverse is yet another entry in the line of great early 20th-century eagles on American coinage.
The edge of the Peace dollar is reeded.
