1921 Peace Silver Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 1,006,473 made
- Mintage
- 1,006,473
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 26.73 g
- Diameter
- 38.1 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1921 Peace Silver Dollar worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1921 is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
The 1921 Peace dollar was struck in high relief, a one-year type that was hard to strike fully.
Quick answers
- Is the 1921 Peace Silver Dollar rare?
- Somewhat. 1,006,473 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1921 Peace Silver Dollar silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.7735 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1921 Peace Silver Dollar?
- On the reverse, below the word ONE, near the tip of the eagle's wing. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1921 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no Philadelphia issue had a smaller mintage than the 1921.
- How many 1921 Peace Silver Dollar coins were made?
- 1,006,473.
What to check on your 1921
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Judge the grade under good light. Wear appears first on the hair above Liberty's ear and on the eagle's wing feathers.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more.
The story of the 1921
1921 was the first year of the Peace Silver Dollar. Philadelphia struck 1,006,473 of them. In 1922 the figure was 52 million.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1921 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1934-S (1,011,000) and the 1934 (954,057).
Across Philadelphia's 10 Peace Silver Dollar issues, the hardest to find is the 1928 with 360,649 made. The 1921 is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 1920s it's 4th smallest of 19, between the 1927-S (866,000) and the 1927-D (1.3 million).
High relief and the switch to low relief (1921 to 1922)
Anthony de Francisci's Peace dollar commemorated the end of World War I. The first 1,006,473 were struck in late December 1921 in high relief and released in January 1922. The reverse eagle perches on a rock inscribed PEACE as the sun rises behind it. A broken sword in the original design was removed before release after objections that it suggested defeat.
The high relief strained the presses and wore dies quickly, so early in 1922 the Mint lowered the relief. Philadelphia then struck 51.7 million low relief dollars in 1922, joined by Denver and San Francisco, making 1922 the most common Peace dollar. A few 1922 high relief coins exist as rarities. The 1921 itself is scarce and often shows a weak strike in the center of Liberty's hair.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1921
Morgan dollar production resumed to replace the coins melted under the Pittman Act. In December the Peace dollar by Anthony de Francisci was introduced, struck in high relief that first year.
How to recognize it
Anthony de Francisci's Liberty faces left wearing a crown of light rays, with LIBERTY above and the date below. The reverse shows an eagle at rest on a mountaintop, holding an olive branch, as the sun rises behind it, with the word PEACE on the rock. The mint mark is below the word ONE, near the tip of the eagle's wing.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Peace Silver Dollar (1921–present) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,006,473 |
| Face value | $1 |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 26.73 grams |
| Diameter | 38.1 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.7735 troy oz (24.057 g) |
| Designer | Anthony de Francisci |
Mintage: Peace dollar (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.