1921 Dollar Coin
1921 was the Year of Two Silver Dollars. One, the Morgan dollar, was an old design that no one expected to see again. The other was the Peace dollar. It was a new design, and the first coin design in the U.S. created in response to public demand.
This is the story of the 1921 Peace dollar, the dynamic new silver dollar designed for 20th Century America.
What Is a 1921 Peace Dollar Worth?
The 1921 Peace Dollar (Buy on eBay) was the first year of issue for the new series of silver dollars. Slightly more than one million coins were produced at the Philadelphia Mint during the period from December 28 to December 31, 1921. The coins would be released into circulation early in the following year. 1921 Morgan Silver Dollar Value Pushed higher by bullion prices your 1921 Morgan silver dollar value is a minimum of. And of higher value to collectors are those found today in top preservation.
NGC's Coin Price Guide for Peace Dollars (1921-1935). For a large number of coins, margins can go way down. Coin dealers use the margins to keep their business afloat. Note: if you have a 1921 peace silver dollar, and not a 1921 Morgan silver dollar (the picture on this page shows a Morgan dollar), you have a valuable coin. See our appraisal page for peace dollars at this link PRESS HERE.
Circulated GradesUncirculated Grades
The information on this page does not constitute an offer to buy or sell the coin(s) referred to. Proof and prooflike examples of this issue may have greater or lesser 'finest known' and different record auction prices.
What Makes the 1921 Peace Dollar Special?
The 1921 Peace dollar was the first U.S. coin design produced due to popular demand. It was also the last high relief coin intended for circulation.
The Peace dollar was the last coin design of the 1907-1921 “American Renaissance of Coinage.” Like its predecessors, its relief had to be lowered to extend the life of the coin dies.
1921 high relief Peace silver dollar. Image: USA CoinBook
The Peace dollar was also the last real silver dollar struck by the United States (in 1935). The circulating Eisenhower dollar that was introduced in 1971 had a clad construction devoid of silver, similar to today’s quarters and dimes. (There were proof collectible Eisenhower dollars struck with a “silver sandwich” clad construction, but they did not circulate.)
The 1921 Peace Dollar Design
The Peace dollar could have hardly been more different than the Morgan dollar. Lady Liberty gave off a youthful, energetic appearance on the coin’s obverse, rather than the staid, matronly guise of her counterpart on the Morgan dollar. An American bald eagle stood perched on a mountaintop on the reverse, watching the first rays of a rising sun break above the horizon.
All 1921 Peace dollars were minted in Philadelphia, so they don't have any mintmark. The mintmark location is important to take note of for subsequent years. Like the Morgan dollar, the mintmarks are either 'D' or 'S' and are found on the reverse beneath the eagle's tail. On the Peace dollar, however, the mintmark is in the bottom-left rather than centered at the bottom rim.
The Peace dollar was designed by Anthony de Francisci, who won an eight-way design contest in November 1921 to design the coin. Due to the time constraints of the contest, de Francisci used his wife as the basis for his Liberty. The artists only had ten days to submit their designs. Germany and the US had signed a peace treaty that November. Mint officials wanted to release the coin by the end of the year to mark the event.
The Eagle And The Sword
The original design for the reverse of the Peace dollar had the eagle standing on the broken sword of War, while grasping an olive branch. Before the design was even seen by the public, news leaked about the sword. Complaints flooded into the U.S. Mint, Treasury Department, and Congress. The nation’s newspapers carried countless outraged editorials.
The broken sword was not seen as a symbol of “no more war,” but rather as the “broken sword of a defeated soldier.” Chief Engraver Morgan sat down with de Francisci and altered the only master hub to turn the sword into part of the olive branch, and part of the mountain. No Peace dollars with the original reverse were struck: not even trial pieces.
Any coins showing the sword are fakes, or real Peace dollars that have been overstamped and the date changed. In any case, they have no value except their silver content. Moreover, contrary to rumors on the internet, all 1921 Peace dollars are high relief. The relief was lowered partway through production of 1922-dated coins.
Issued for a total of 27 years, the Morgan Silver Dollars represent the second longest-running design for the US silver dollar and one of two designs to have been issued in separate stints by the United States Mint. Though it was not particularly beloved in its day as a circulation piece, the design of the Morgan Silver Dollar has enjoyed a renaissance among collectors in the 20th and 21st centuries. Now, certified 1921 Morgan Silver Dollars are available to you for purchase online at Silver.com.
Coin Highlights:
- Coin ships to you inside of a protective plastic slab from the NGC!
- Last issue in 1921!
- Availability of certified coins is limited!
- Consists of .7734 Troy ounces of actual silver content.
- Issued a face value of $1 (USD) by the United States.
- Bears a Grade of Mint State 63 from the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation.
- The obverse features Lady Liberty.
- On the reverse is the heraldic eagle.
The first US silver dollar to go into regular production was the Seated Liberty Dollar. This coin design was used across a number of US silver denominations starting in various years in the late 1830s. The Seated Liberty Dollar was adopted in 1840 and suspended in 1873. It remains the longest-running silver dollar design.
1921 Dollar Coin O.u.s.v.a
Morgan Silver Dollars are the second longest-running US silver dollars and were in production from 1878 to 1904 and again in 1921. Not only is it the second longest-running silver dollar, but the Morgan Silver Dollar is also one of two silver dollars ever to be issued in two different runs. The other was the Peace Dollar issued from 1921 to 1928 and again in 1934-1935.
The obverse side of the 1921 Morgan Silver Dollars features a left-profile bust of Lady Liberty. George T. Morgan was the designer of this Liberty bust and created a portrait of Liberty with thick curls in her hair, the Liberty coronet, and a wreath crown on her head.
On the reverse face of 1921 Morgan Silver Dollars is a depiction of the heraldic eagle of the United States. Morgan also created this design for the coins and featured the American bald eagle with the arrows of war and olive branch of peace in its talons.
These 1921 Morgan Silver Dollars are available to you with an NGC certification. Mint State 63 coins showcase impaired mint luster. The coins have several small contact marks and a few heavy contact marks. It is also possible for a few larger hairlines to be present. Overall, the coins have an attractive eye appeal.
1921 Dollar Coin Value
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