1923 Peace Dollar OR 1928 Peace Dollar?

David Bowers: The following narrative, with minor editing, is from my “Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia” (Wolfeboro, NH: Bowers and Merena Galleries, Inc., 1993).

Coinage Context

Lowest mintage: The low mintage of only 360,649 coins is the smallest production figure in the 1921-35 Peace dollar series, except for the 1922 High Relief.

1928 $1 Minted For “Cornerstone Laying”: The Numismatist, February 1929, printed this item:

1928 Silver Dollar For Tammany Hall: An incident in connection with the arrangements for laying the cornerstone in the new Tammany Hall Building came to light with the last minute receipt by registered mail from the director of the Mint in Washington, D.C., of a silver dollar dated 1928 to be included with the contents of the cornerstone.

Martin Egan, secretary of Tammany Hall, had asked the Guaranty Trust Company to supply the silver dollar. The Guaranty had none of the 1928 coinage and applied to the Federal Reserve Bank, which was also just out of silver dollars of that date. The Trust Company then wired an application to the secretary of the Treasury in Washington, and the dollar was sent direct from the Mint, accompanied by the information that silver dollars of 1928 coinage are to be used exclusively for cornerstone laying and other dedicatory purposes.

The notion that the 1928 Peace dollar was minted exclusively for special ceremonies found its way into numismatic tradition. Years later, Richard S. Yeoman’s Handbook of U.S. Coins (first published in 1941; familiarly called the Blue Book), told readers of various early editions that the 1928 silver dollar was “minted for cornerstone purposes.” For a number of years collectors were led to believe that just a few 1928 dollars were released, and that coins of this date were quite rare.

When I was a teenager in 1952 and 1953, I was thrilled to find one of these “cornerstone dollars” at a local bank. My enthusiasm dimmed as I found another, then another. At the time I did not own a set of back issues of The Numismatist, for if I had, I might have noticed the following item:

More on the “cornerstone dollars”: The Numismatist, March 1929, told more:

The Silver Dollar of 1928: The news item in our issue last month that some little difficulty was encountered by Tammany Hall in securing a silver dollar of 1928 to place in the cornerstone of its new building in New York City has caused some collectors to wonder why dollars of last year should be scarce or difficult to get, when the report of the Bureau of the Mint shows that nearly two million pieces were coined. The news item referred to stated that the Treasury Department was releasing dollars of 1928 for use only for cornerstone laying or other dedicatory purposes.

In connection with this action of the Treasury Department it might be stated that the coinage of these two million silver dollars [combined total of Philadelphia and San Francisco production] in 1928 completes the necessary coinage under the Pittman Act passed as a wartime measure. In 1918 the melting of many silver dollars stored in the Treasury was authorized by Congress in order that the bullion might be sent to India and the Orient to stabilize conditions. There was a provision in the act that the dollars so melted be replaced. All the dollars coined since that time have been for this purpose. Now that they have been replaced; the coinage of silver dollars is expected to be discontinued.

It appears that silver dollars of 1928 will be scarce in the immediate future for collectors and they probably will command a price considerably above face value, IUs not expected that the price will soar in proportion to their present rarity, because of the fact that nearly two million lie in the vaults of the Treasury and may at some future time be released. in quantities to satisfy the demands of collectors-and then some.

Numismatic Information

Commentary: The 1928 Peace dollars were apparently distributed in dribs and drabs. In 1928, they were scarce, but by the early 1930s they were seen with regularity in circulation.

I have never seen, nor have a firm record of an original mint-sealed bag being preserved. However, rolls come on the market occasionally. Tradition has it that some bags came out in Ohio and Pennsylvania in the 1950s, and were used to pay millworkers.. Quantity lots must have escaped the active coin dealers at the time. Walter H. Breen told me that Cleveland and Pittsburgh were dispersal points. Mark Borckardt recalled that when he worked with Dave Berg in Pittsburgh in 1980, he received quite a few 1928 dollars over the counter. Most were AU-50 to MS-60 by that time.

In the 1990s, high-grade 1928 peace dollars were common and were found in mixed bags of dollars. Most of these ranged from AU grade to what we might designate as MS-63 today. Dollars. of this date have a distinctive beveled rim, making them easily detectable in a bag, even if the date is hidden under another coin.

Circulated grades: 1928 Peace dollars are somewhat scarce, especially in well-worn grades. Most seen are in higher grades such as EF and AU. In the 1950s, these were so plentiful in mixed bags of dollars in the East that I did not bother to save them. Apparently, the situation changed, as by 1982 Wayne Miller was able to write that this is the rarest Peace dollar in, grades below Mint State.

Mint State grades: Mint State coins are common, but because of the low mintage they are always in demand. In my firm’s inventory, 1928 Peace dollars have never accumulated to any appreciable extent. In they come, out they go.

Most specimens are somewhat satiny in appearance, often with cloudy or milky white surfaces or with yellow staining, the latter often removable by dipping. Striking varies, but the center of the reverse is sometimes weak. The average coin is quite presentable.

The typical Mint State coin is in the MS-60 to 63 range. MS-64 coins are seen with frequency, but aesthetically pleasing MS-65s are rare. Probably, about 300 to 600 MS-65 coins survive.

Caveat emptor: This issue is sometimes faked by removing the mintmark from a 1928-S dollar or by altering the 3 to an 8 in the date of a 1923-S dollar. Cast counterfeits with knife rims were sold at Seville (Spain) flea markets in 1972; these have a raised line through lower shaft of I across rays toward B, weak centers, and irregular letters.

Varieties

Business strikes:

1. Breen-5730. Hub combination II-B2. VAM-I.

Just the one variety.

Dies prepared: Obverse: Unknown; Reverse: Unknown.

Business strike mintage: 360,649 (lowest mintage in the 1921-1935 series, except for the 1922 High Relief)

Estimated quantity melted: Unknown.

Characteristics of striking: Average strikes; usually very lustrous.

Known hoards of Mint State coins: No bags are known to exist. Rolls come on the market occasionally.

Commentary

The Treasury Department released only a few in the year of coinage, 1928, saying that such were available for cornerstone-laying or other ceremonial purposes; later, large quantities were released.