Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia

1927 Peace Dollar

Numismatic Information

Commentary: The low-mintage 1927 is a coin that has slipped between the cracks so far as news of bag releases is concerned. Little about this date appeared in print years ago. On the other hand, the historical record shows that its cousin, the 1927-S Peace dollar, was once plentiful in bag and roll quantities, from releases directly from storage in the San Francisco Mint.

Today, the 1927 Philadelphia issue ranks as one of the scarcer Peace dollar issues in higher levels of Mint State.

Circulated grades: Circulated 1927 Peace dollars are scarce in comparison to many other issues in the series. However, there are enough around that there has never been a shortage of any kind. As is true of many circulated Peace dollars, probably quantities went to the melting pot in the late 1970s when the Hunt brothers tried to corner the silver bullion market, and foolishly chased the price up to nearly $50 per ounce at a point, virtually bankrupting themselves in the process. I estimate that 30,000 to 60,000 1927 Peace dollars exist today in grades from VF-20 to AU-58.

Mint State grades: The 1927 is very available in Uncirculated grade. Most are in lower ranges of MS-60 through 63, but enough MS-64 coins exist that finding one will not be a problem for the specialist. MS-65 coins are in the rare category, and only a few hundred are estimated to have survived.

The usually-seen Uncirculated 1927 is very attractive, well struck, and with lustrous, satiny surfaces a numismatic gem to behold. There are exceptions as there always seem to be among Peace silver dollars-and some are average strikes and/or are noticeably bagmarked.

Varieties

Business strikes:
1. Breen-5727. Hub combination II-B2. VAM-I.
Just the one major variety.

1927 Peace: Market Values

1927 Peace: Summary of Characteristics

Business Strikes:
Enabling legislation: As earlier; plus bullion authorized by the Pittman Act, April 23, 1918
Designer: Anthony de Francisci
Weight and composition: 412.5 grains; .900 silver, .100 copper
Melt-down (silver value) in year minted: $0.43838
Dies prepared: Obverse: Unknown; Reverse: Unknown.
Business strike mintage: 848,000
Estimated quantity melted: Unknown.
Approximate population MS-65 or better: 300 to 500 (URS-10)
Approximate population MS-64: 1,750 to 2,500 (URS-12)
Approximate population MS-63: 3,000 to 5,000 (URS-13)
Approximate population MS-60 to 62: 10,000 to 20,000 (URS-15)
Approximate population VF-20 to AU-58: 30,000 to 60,000 (URS-16)
Characteristics of striking: Usually seen very well struck. Mint State coins are typically very attractive.
Known hoards of Mint State coins: Probably, Treasury bags existed in the 1950s and/or early 1960s, but I have found no records of them.

Proofs:
None

Commentary
The typical 1927 Peace dollar in Mint State is well struck and very attractive.

Additional Information

TheYear 1927 in History

In a ruling that made illegal income taxable, the Supreme Court gave the federal government an extra tool to prosecute crime. On August 2, 1927, when asked if he would seek the presidential nomination in 1928, Calvin Coolidge said "I do not choose to run."

Charles Lindbergh left Long Island's Roosevelt field alone in his Ryan monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis, at 7:55 a.m. on May 20 and arrived in Paris 33 hours and 29 minutes later, making headlines allover the world and winning a $25,000 prize. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Massachusetts after being convicted on sparse evidence of killing a factory guard. The prosecution based their case on the radical beliefs of the pair; the decision of guilty caused widespread anger and led to an unsuccessful effort to save the men.

Pan-American Airways was founded by Juan Trippe, and grew to become America's pre-eminent flag carrier through the 1930s and 1940s, after which competition and diffidence toward its passengers led to its decline and eventual bankruptcy. After 15 million Model T Fords had exited the assembly lines, the Model A Ford was introduced at a cost of $200 million for retooling, which took six months. In 1927 more than 20 million automobiles were registered in the United States. Television was first demonstrated on April 7, 1927 by the Bell Telephone Company. John Willard Marriott opened his Hot Shoppe in Washington, D.C., laying the foundation for his vast hotel and restaurant empire.

Radio's popularity continued, with programs being played in public places, to the detriment of coin operated pianos. Juke boxes, which had been introduced many years before(one early model was exhibited at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915), were gaining popularity. Although films had been coordinated with sound for many years, but none had achieved technical success or popularity until The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson, captured the imagination of Americans, with its limited. singing and dialogue sections. By the 19308 most films were produced with soundtracks. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded on May 11, 1927. The first award statuette, later named "The Oscar," was given for the film Wings. Popular songs included Me and My Shadow, I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover, Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella, and Strike Up the Band. Babe Ruth, who began his major league career as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in 1914, was the year's leading hitter. When his career ended in ·1935, Ruth Was and still is America's most famous baseball player.

The 1927 Vermont-Bennington Sesquicentennial commemorative half dollar was marketed, and had the highest design relief of any half dollar made up to this time.