When most non-specialist collectors think about Peace dollars, 1928 is the date that probably comes most readily to mind as the key to the series. It’s an understandable association, as the Philadelphia Mint struck the fewest Peace dollars that year. There are, however, relatively common branch mint mid-1920s issues (i.e. 1924-1927) that rival the vaunted 1928, despite having larger mintages. One example is the 1925-S, a scarcer date with a very small number of Gem examples known. We’re offering an example certified MS-65+ by NGC on our SBG Direct page for $55,000.
The San Francisco Mint struck 1,610,000 Peace dollars in 1925, a mintage on the smaller side for the series. According to Q. David Bowers’ Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia, many of the coins entered circulation in the 1920s while others languished in vaults. Bags of the date were released from the late 1930s through the late 1950s. Weak strikes and bagmarks are common, a major factor in the desirability of Gem coins.
Certified populations of the coins in gem grades evaporate as you move up the grading scale, giving credence to the date’s reputation as a condition rarity. NGC reports 79 grading events for 1925-S Peace dollars in MS-65 (including MS-65+), with a single example reported in MS-66. PCGS, for its part, reports 54 grading events for the date in MS-65, with a single coin in a 65+ holder. None finer are reported. To put the certified populations into perspective, NGC reports 1,777 grading events for 1925-S Peace dollars in MS-64 and PCGS reports 2,277 such events.
1925-S Peace dollars in MS-65+ don’t cross the block often and when they do, they bring significant prices. We haven’t offered one since 2014, when we sold an example in our August ANA sale for $29,375. An example in MS-65+, graded by NGC, sold in a GreatCollections sale for $21,544 in March 2022, while another, certified by PCGS, crossed the block in August for $132,000. Examples in MS-65, without the plus grade, regularly cross the block for five figures.
With these results in mind, our offered example priced at $55,000 could be a great opportunity for a Peace dollar specialist to acquire this condition rarity.
