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

Although on an absolute basis-considering the total population of high-grade worn coins plus Mint State pieces-the 1934-S is the key date, in MS-65 grade it is by no means the rarest Peace dollar and is outranked by several others, among which are the 1923-S, 1924-S, and 1928-S.

John Highfill on the 1934-S: In his Comprehensive Encyclopedia, John Highfill gave this advice to anyone seeking to build a set of Peace dollars:

Start with a 1934-S first and work on the rest of the series later. Always buy the keys and semi-keys first. Constant demand for all key issues keeps the premiums high throughout the decades. They are also less volatile during market swings.

John Kamin on the 1934-S: John Kamin, publisher of The Forecaster newsletter, furnished these comments: (Letter to the author, September 8, 1992.)

I believe the 1934-S silver dollar is the main coin in the series, and the first place one should start if collecting Peace dollars, followed by the 1927-S, 1928, and 1928-S. After all, every Peace dollar collector is going to, sooner or later, need the 1934-S. Even today, MS-63 prices appear to be a great bargain, and comprise most of the value of a complete set of Peace dollars.

The first coin to check, if you are buying an already assembled complete set of Peace dollars, is the 1934-S to See if it's a slider. Probably half the Peace dollar sets offered to me as Uncirculated have a slider for the 1934-S (such sliders circulated coins, but these are barely detectable from Mint State pieces).

I believe that, given time, the 1934-S Peace dollar in MS-60 to MS-63 condition will eventually occupy a traditional collector-desired position in the Peace dollar series, as the 1893-S Morgan dollar in MS-60 to MS-63 condition occupies in the Morgan series, as also does the 1895 Proof-60 to 63 silver dollar in the Morgan series-namely the last coin that most collectors buy-with usually the highest amount of money spent for any coin in 60 to 63 grades!

Caveat emptor: A few forgeries of the 1934-S have been made by affixing S mintmarks from other dollars onto genuine 1934 Philadelphia coins. To detect these, use 20x or higher magnification to study the junction of mintmark and field. Ideally, examine the coin with a binocular microscope, tilt the coin nearly upright and focus on the junction. An added S will show a split or seam all the way around; a genuine S will show flow lines continuous with surrounding field.

Varieties

Business strikes:
1. Breen-5734. Hub combination III-B2. VAM-1. All have micro S mintmark. On VAM-2 the mintmark' leans left.

1934-S Peace: Market Values

1934-S Peace: Summary of Characteristics

Business Strikes:
Enabling legislation: As earlier; plus others, including the Silver Purchase Act of June 18, 1934

Designer: Anthony de Francisci
Weight and composition: 412.5 grains; .900 silver, .100 copper
Melt-down (silver value) in year minted: $0.37344
Dies prepared: Obverse: Unknown; Reverse: Unknown.
Business strike mintage: 1,011,000
Estimated quantity melted: Unknown.
Approximate population MS-65 or better: 300 to 600 (URS-10)
Approximate population MS-64: 800 to 1,500 (URS-11)
Approximate population MS-63: 1,600 to 3,200 (URS-12)
Approximate population MS-60 to 62: 2,000 to 3,000 (URS-13)
Approximate population VF-20 to AU-58: 30,000 to 40,000 (URS-16)
Characteristics of striking: Usually somewhat lightly struck and grainy on the eagle at the center of the reverse. Often seen lightly toned.

Known hoards of Mint State coins: Bags were paid out from the San Francisco Mint in the 1940s and 1950s, but most went into circulation instead of into numismatic circles; after then, large quantities were rare on the market. No quantities were in the 1962-64 Treasury release. Occasionally, 20- coin rolls came on the market in the 1960s and 1970s.

Proofs:
None

Commentary
This is the key Peace dollar issue in Mint State.