1924 US Coins: Values & Mintages

The Mint in the 1920s

After the First World War, demand for coins rose and fell sharply. A sharp recession in 1920 and 1921 cut demand for new coins, which is why several branch-mint issues of the early 1920s have low mintages. The Morgan dollar returned briefly in 1921 and the Peace dollar replaced it, struck in large numbers to replace the dollars melted under the Pittman Act.

Through the middle of the decade the economy boomed and the Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco mints struck cents, nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars in growing numbers. Dates that wore off easily, on the Buffalo nickel and the Standing Liberty quarter, are a feature of the era's coins. The decade ended with the stock market crash of October 1929.

How many coins were made in 1924

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 196,380,500 coins dated 1924 across 17 issues. That is 23% fewer than in 1923 (254,003,250). In 1925 the figure rose to 305,391,850.

By mint: Philadelphia 147,862,500 (75%, down from 201,650,000), San Francisco 27,768,500 (14%, down from 43,840,000) and Denver 20,749,500 (11%, up from 8,513,250).

Those coins held about 16,271,179 troy ounces of pure silver and 9,965,663 troy ounces of gold.

1924 coins by denomination

Cents: 89,394,000 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Lincoln Wheat Cent, up 7.2% on 1923. The scarcest is the 1924-D (2,520,000) and the most plentiful the 1924 (75,178,000).

Nickels: 28,315,000 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Buffalo Nickel, down 32% on 1923. The scarcest is the 1924-S (1,437,000) and the most plentiful the 1924 (21,620,000).

Dimes: 37,940,000 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Mercury Dime, down 33% on 1923. The scarcest is the 1924-D (6,810,000) and the most plentiful the 1924 (24,010,000).

Quarters: 16,892,000 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Standing Liberty Quarter, up 53% on 1923. The scarcest is the 1924-S (2,860,000) and the most plentiful the 1924 (10,920,000).

Dollar Coins: 13,539,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Peace Silver Dollar, down 76% on 1923. The scarcest is the 1924-S (1,728,000) and the most plentiful the 1924 (11,811,000).

Gold Coins: 10,300,500 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, up 354% on 1923. The scarcest is the 1924-S (2,927,500) and the most plentiful the 1924 (4,323,500).

Every 1924 circulation issue at a glance

• 1924-S Buffalo Nickel: 1,437,000 struck, 4th lowest of 64 in the series, down from 6,142,000 in 1923.
• 1924-S Peace Silver Dollar: 1,728,000 struck, 12th lowest of 24 in the series, down from 19,020,000 in 1923.
• 1924-D Lincoln Wheat Cent: 2,520,000 struck, 5th lowest of 140 in the series, down from 7,160,000 in 1922.
• 1924-S Standing Liberty Quarter: 2,860,000 struck, 17th lowest of 37 in the series, up from 1,360,000 in 1923.
• 1924-S Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle: 2,927,500 struck, more than 82% of the series' 52 issues, similar to 1922.
• 1924-D Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle: 3,049,500 struck, more than 90% of the series' 52 issues, up from 1,702,250 in 1923.
• 1924-D Standing Liberty Quarter: 3,112,000 struck, 18th lowest of 37 in the series, similar to 1920.
• 1924 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle: 4,323,500 struck, more than 98% of the series' 52 issues, up from 566,000 in 1923.
• 1924-D Buffalo Nickel: 5,258,000 struck, 15th lowest of 64 in the series, down from 9,418,000 in 1920.
• 1924-D Mercury Dime: 6,810,000 struck, 20th lowest of 77 in the series, up from 1,080,000 in 1921.
• 1924-S Mercury Dime: 7,120,000 struck, 22nd lowest of 77 in the series, similar to 1923.
• 1924 Standing Liberty Quarter: 10,920,000 struck, more than 75% of the series' 37 issues, similar to 1923.

The 5 more plentiful issues are listed in the tables below.

Lincoln Wheat Cent: Initials return and the 1922 plain

In 1918 Brenner's initials returned, this time tiny on the truncation of Lincoln's shoulder, where they stayed for the rest of the series. Production stayed high after the war, but a recession cut 1921 output. In 1922 only Denver struck cents. Worn and filled dies at Denver produced coins with no visible mint mark, the 1922 Plain. Only one die pair shows a strong reverse and no trace of the D. That is the variety collectors want.

Branch mint cents of the 1920s are known for soft strikes. The 1924-D, 1926-S and other San Francisco and Denver dates often show weak hair detail and mushy wheat lines. The 1926-S is notoriously hard to find with red color. Most dates from this era survive in circulated grades with brown surfaces. Fully struck, red examples from the branch mints are much harder to find than Philadelphia coins.

See every Lincoln Wheat Cent →

Buffalo Nickel: Branch mint keys and soft strikes

No nickels were struck in 1922. Production resumed in 1923. San Francisco struck small numbers in several years, creating the 1923-S, 1924-S and 1926-S semi-keys. The 1926-S, at 970,000, is the lowest mintage regular issue of the series. Denver and San Francisco coins from these years are known for weak strikes, especially on the bison's head and the date.

The Depression cut demand in 1930 and 1931. In 1931 only San Francisco struck nickels, 1.2 million pieces. The coin was saved by many people at the time. Survivors from the 1920s are usually found with worn or missing dates. Coins with full horn detail carry a premium. Dateless Buffalo nickels from this era are often treated with acid to reveal the date.

See every Buffalo Nickel →

Standing Liberty Quarter: Raised dates and soft strikes

The Type 2 design kept the date raised on a step at Liberty's feet, where it wore away in circulation. Many Standing Liberty quarters from these years now have partial or missing dates. The 1918/7-S overdate, made when a 1917 die was repunched with an 8, is the major variety of the series and shows a faint 7 inside the 8.

Mintages were large in 1918 and 1920, but amid the postwar slump the 1921 run fell to 1,916,000. No quarters were struck in 1922. San Francisco's 1923-S, with 1,360,000 made, is a key. Branch mint coins from Denver and San Francisco often show weak strikes on Liberty's head, so a Full Head example of a 1919-D, 1920-D or 1923-S is far rarer than its mintage suggests.

See every Standing Liberty Quarter →

Peace Silver Dollar: Pittman Act coinage winds down

Peace dollars continued in large numbers to replace the coins melted under the Pittman Act, with Philadelphia striking 30.8 million in 1923. Output fell after that year. San Francisco's 1924-S and 1925-S, each under two million, are scarce in high grades. Denver made no dollars in 1924 or 1925.

The 1927 issues from all three mints are relatively scarce. The 1928 from Philadelphia, with only 360,649 struck, is the lowest mintage of the series and is often confused with the more common 1928-S. Pittman purchases were complete in 1928 and coinage stopped. San Francisco dollars of these years are often softly struck. Many survivors show heavy bag marks from storage in Treasury vaults. Bags of Peace dollars also emerged in the Treasury releases of the early 1960s.

See every Peace Silver Dollar →

Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle: Postwar mintages and overseas hoards

Double eagle production stopped from 1917 through 1919. When it resumed in 1920, much of the output went into Treasury vaults or abroad as reserves. The 1920-S and 1921 are rare because most were melted in the 1930s. The 1927-D is one of the great rarities of American gold, with only a handful known from 180,000 struck.

The Philadelphia coins of 1924 to 1928 are among the most common double eagles because many were shipped to European banks and later returned in quantity. Branch mint coins of the same years tell a different story. The 1924-D, 1924-S, 1925-D, 1925-S, 1926-D and 1926-S are scarce despite mostly large mintages because most were melted. Bag marks and rim nicks are the usual flaws on the repatriated Philadelphia coins.

See every Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle →

Mercury Dime: A slump, a missing year and the 1921 semi-keys

After the war the economy turned down and the Mint had plenty of dimes on hand. Silver was also going into Morgan dollars under the Pittman Act. Philadelphia struck just 1,230,000 dimes in 1921 and Denver 1,080,000, down from 59 million and 19 million the year before. San Francisco made none. No dimes at all were struck in 1922, the first year without them in nearly a century.

The 1921 and 1921-D are the semi-keys of the series. Few were set aside when new, so most survivors are heavily worn and uncirculated pieces are scarce. Production resumed in 1923 with 50,130,000 at Philadelphia and 6,440,000 at San Francisco. Denver struck no dimes that year, so a 1923-D Mercury dime is a counterfeit, whatever its condition. From 1924 all three mints were active again, with the branch mints making between about 5.1 and 7.1 million each and Philadelphia about 24 to 26 million.

Even a well-worn 1921 or 1921-D with a readable date carries a collector premium, so a coin with a clear date and full rims deserves a careful look before it goes in a pile of common silver. The branch mint coins of 1924 and 1925 are easy to find in worn grades but are often softly struck, which makes sharp uncirculated pieces with full bands difficult. The 1925-D, at 5,117,000, is the lowest mintage of those years.

See every Mercury Dime →