Q. David Bowers
Promotions
Be careful of so-called bargains in Peace dollars when you see them offered. This advice is not always easy to follow, for silver dollars, more than any other series, are subject to phony price promotions in popular numismatic periodicals.
Sometimes one can read an advertisement for Peace (or Morgan) silver dollars describing "beautiful Uncirculated," "superb quality Uncirculated," "hand selected Uncirculated," etc., but no specific mention of the grades. As the prices are usually at the bargain level, I surmise that most are MS-60-to be generous-and some are probably even what are popularly called "sliders," pieces which are AU. Many of these ads are frauds upon the collecting public and should be cleaned up by the numismatic publications running them. In 1991 and 1992, dealer Richard Wagner mounted a campaign to help eliminate misleading advertising, but he met with indifference or resistance from the advertising managers of certain periodicals. One of them stated matter-of-factly that readers who buy "bargains" should expect to receive overgraded coins!
In a letter to me, noted numismatic researcher Bill Fivaz told of contacting the advertising manager of a leading publication to tell him that Peace silver dollars advertised in high Uncirculated grades were not what was being delivered to customers.' The reply was that "no complaints have been lodged." Of course, the reason for this is that some of the biggest cheaters send refund checks the fastest-to prevent such complaints.
To expand on this, I mention a situation encoun-tered by Littleton Coin Company of Littleton, New Hampshire, a company which is very careful about its customer service. The firm purchased a bag of 1884-O silver dollars in Uncirculated grade, checked them over carefully to be sure that all were Mint State, and then decided to offer them as a loss leader in a promotion, selling the coins at less than they paid for them, if expenses were also included. They knew full well that no one would undercut these prices, as Littleton was losing money while offering legitimate Mint State pieces. But, they were wrong! Lo and behold, someone was advertising "Uncirculated" coins cheaper. The only problem was that upon inspection the competitor's coins were just AU. Littleton complained to the numismatic publication in question and was given an answer to the effect that "we can't police everybody."
Historical Market Prices
As noted earlier, for a number of years, through at least the mid-1930s, Peace silver dollars of all earlier dates and mintmarks could be obtained at face value (plus a nominal charge for postage and handling) by mail from the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. Not all dates were in stock at all times, but over a period of time all 1921-1928 varieties were offered. The Treasury periodically sent mimeographed price lists to interested applicants, but did not advertise the service. Because of this, many collectors were not aware of the situation. As Peace dollars were available from the Treasury until1935, and possibly even later, there was no reason for any Peace dollar to sell for a premium until close to 1940. However, as few numismatists knew of this government service, certain dollars commanded a modest premium on the collectors' market. By the late 1930s, the rarest issue in the series was considered to be the 1923-D, a coin which the Treasury could no longer supply (although quantities still remained stored in government vaults).
Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, such dealers as Bebee's, Franklin Coin Mart, William Pukall, and Norman Shultz-to name just a few-regularly advertised Peace dollars in the pages of The Numismatist and the Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine. Prices for many issues in Uncirculated grade ran from about $1.25 to $1.75. There was little demand for them.
I recall that in 1952 or 1953, shortly after I became interested in rare coins, Edmund Karmilowicz, a Pennsylvania collector, showed me a clear plastic holder, secured with screws at the edges, containing a set of 24 different Uncirculated Peace dollars, noting that in his opinion the design was beautiful and the prices were enticingly cheap. Indeed, the set of brilliant, sparkling pieces arranged in even rows, was thrilling to behold. To me, such a set was a personi-fication of the Roaring Twenties, a nostalgic era in American history which I had read about-what with flappers, nickel-in-the-slot pianos, Charlie Chaplin, stocks on margin, bathtub gin, Al Capone, Moxie, and "Silent Cal" Coolidge.
Even though many Peace silver dollars, especially those in worn grades, were not worth much more than face value until after the early 1960s, dealers sold them for a slight premium to reflect stocking and handling costs. Because of this, common circulated Peace dollars are listed in the price charts for each date under the heading "Market Values" at no less than $1.10 per coin for market listings before 1940, and at no less than $1.25 per coin for listings 1940 and later. This does not mean that the 1,000- coin bag of $1.25 pieces would have been worth $1,250 at the time; such a bag would have been worth just face value.
Market values for common Peace dollars were affected strongly by the rise in price of silver bullion during the years 1965-1980 (most particularly in 1979 and 1980). The escalating values of worn, common dollars was primarily due to this factor, not to increased numismatic demand.
The following selected auction sale results, advertisements, and catalogue listings illustrate the progress of market values in the Peace silver dollar series. As is the case with other series, there were no standard prices, and a coin in a given grade that brought $2.00 in one sale might bring $1.50 in another sale, $3.00 in a third, and be advertised in The Numismatist for $2.25.
As will be seen, the availability of San Francisco Mint Peace dollars in quantity on the West Coast kept the prices of these issues low for many years. As recited earlier in the recollections of John Skubis and RobertJohnson, Peace dollars were in oversupply on the market, and for several dates, bags full of 1,000 sparkling Uncirculated San Francisco dollars were worth only face value in the 1950s, as strange and wonderful as this may seem today.
The dealer advertisements interleaved with the auction results show the effects of hoards, promotions, and popularity trends on silver dollars. For research purposes, dealer prices are particularly valuable (and quite interesting!) in the 1950s, when quantities of Peace dollars were released but not many collectors cared, and in the 1960s when the series became popular.
All of this "source material" will give you a first-hand acquaintance with the market and its movements, as it did for me.