1927 Peace Dollar
The 1927 Peace Dollar experienced much lower production than the previous years of the series, with two out of three coins having mintages below the one million mark. There were fewer than three million silver dollars produced across all three mint facilities.
The decline in Peace Dollars mintages was a related to the impending fulfillment of the US Mint’s obligations under the Pittman Act. In 1918, a quantity of more than 270 million silver dollars were melted and sold to the British. The Act authorized the replacement of each coin melted, leading to massive production of silver dollars from 1921 to 1926. The last few million coins required by the Act were struck in 1927 and 1928.
Due to the lower mintages, the 1927 Peace Dollars command premiums across all mint state grades, and especially gems. There are a few hundred pieces each graded MS65 for the Philadelphia and Denver Mint issues. The 1927-S is the most difficult with fewer than 140 pieces graded MS65. All issues become scarce at the MS66 grade level, with only a handful of pieces graded as such.
Recent prices realized for the finest known specimens include $25,300 in June 2011 for the Philadelphia issue graded PCGS MS66, $43,125 in April 2011 for the 1927-D graded PCGS MS66 with CAC verification, and $48,875 in April 2011 for the 1927-S graded PCGS MS66.
1927 Peace Dollar Mintage and Specifications
Mintages: 848,000 (Philadelphia), 1,268,900 (Denver), 866,000 (San Francisco)
Designer: Anthony de Francisci
Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper
Weight: 26.73 grams
Diameter: 38.1 mm
Edge: reeded
