1921-P Peace Dollar
Semi-keyThe first Peace dollar, struck in the last week of December 1921 to Anthony de Francisci's original high-relief design. The relief was too deep for a single press blow, so the dies failed quickly and the coins struck up poorly at the centres. The Mint lowered the relief for 1922, which makes the 1921 a one-year type within its own series rather than merely its first date.
Mintage
- Business strikes
- 1,006,473
- Mint
- Philadelphia (no mintmark)
- Mintage rank
- 6 of 25
Rank 1 is the lowest business-strike mintage in the series. Mintage is what the Mint produced, not what survives: the Pittman Act recoinage that created this series melted silver dollars in the hundreds of millions without recording dates, and later melts and hoards moved the numbers again.
Reading the figure
Among the 10 Philadelphia issues in the series it is the 4th smallest. It is the only issue of the series struck in 1921. 1921 was the smallest production year of the entire series. In 1921 the coin was struck at Philadelphia; Denver and San Francisco struck none.
Every sentence above is computed from the mintage table on this page, not asserted separately.
Scarcity tier
Semi-key
Assigned from reported mintage alone: under 750,000 is a key date, under 2,500,000 is a semi-key.
This is a reproducible label derived from the mintage column, not a market valuation and not a Coin Curator price opinion. The same thresholds apply to every series on this site. Several dates are far harder or far easier to obtain than their mintage implies; where that is true, it is stated above.
Documented varieties
High Relief (all 1921 dollars)
Every 1921 Peace dollar is a high-relief strike. It is a characteristic of the date rather than a variety to hunt, but it is why the hair detail above Liberty's ear is the standard wear check for the issue.
Widely recognised varieties only. The VAM reference catalogs thousands of die marriages across these series; the absence of a variety here does not mean none is documented elsewhere.
Weak strike is not wear. Peace dollars are notoriously softly struck, particularly the San Francisco issues of the 1920s. Read the full note on the series page.
What to check before buying
Specific to the 1921-P:
- 1Weakness at the centre of the hair and on the eagle's feathers is normal for this date and is a striking characteristic, not necessarily wear. Judge wear on the high points of the cheek and the eagle's shoulder instead.
And for any certified coin
Verify the certification number on the grading service’s own lookup rather than from a photograph of the label, match the listing images to the certification record including grade and any variety attribution, look for cleaning, compare the mintmark against published photographs of the genuine issue, and read the return policy before buying. The grading guide covers each of these in full.
Coin Curator does not grade, authenticate, or appraise coins, and publishes no price or population data. These are verification steps, not a valuation.
Verify a certification number
Look a 1921-Pcertification number up on the service’s own site. A photograph of a label proves nothing.
Each service publishes its own guarantee with conditions and exclusions. Compare PCGS, NGC and ANACS.
Find a 1921-P for sale
Opens an eBay search for this exact date and mint. Coin Curator does not list inventory, hold stock, or quote prices; verify each listing, seller, and return policy directly.
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Common questions
How many 1921-P Peace dollars were minted?
The Philadelphia Mint struck 1,006,473 1921-P Peace dollars for circulation. That is the 6th lowest business-strike mintage of the 25 date and mintmark combinations in the series.
Is the 1921-P Peace dollar a key date?
Coin Curator labels it a semi-key, assigned from reported mintage alone: under 750,000 struck is a key date and under 2,500,000 is a semi-key. The same thresholds are used for every series on this site, so the tiers are comparable between them. That label describes production, not market value or how hard the coin is to find today. The first Peace dollar, struck in the last week of December 1921 to Anthony de Francisci's original high-relief design. The relief was too deep for a single press blow, so the dies failed quickly and the coins struck up poorly at the centres. The Mint lowered the relief for 1922, which makes the 1921 a one-year type within its own series rather than merely its first date.
What varieties exist for the 1921-P Peace dollar?
Widely recognised varieties for this issue include High Relief (all 1921 dollars). Every 1921 Peace dollar is a high-relief strike. It is a characteristic of the date rather than a variety to hunt, but it is why the hair detail above Liberty's ear is the standard wear check for the issue. Variety attributions should appear on the certification label rather than only in a seller's description.
What should I check before buying a 1921-P Peace dollar?
Verify the certification number on the grading service's own lookup page, match the listing photographs to the certification record, check for cleaning, and compare the mintmark shape and position against published photographs of the genuine issue. Weakness at the centre of the hair and on the eagle's feathers is normal for this date and is a striking characteristic, not necessarily wear. Judge wear on the high points of the cheek and the eagle's shoulder instead.
Related dates
Guides for this coin
All guides →Peace Dollar Collecting Guide
One of the most attainable classic US silver dollars. The 24-coin date set is within reach, while the 1921 High Relief, low-mintage 1928, and condition-rarity 1934-S give it depth.
2 min readVintage GuideMorgan Dollar Key Dates and Varieties
The 1893-S, 1895 Proof-only, 1889-CC, and important VAM varieties show why date, mint, attribution, and condition must be researched together.
1 min readEducationError Coins: Types, Attribution, and Verification
Learn the difference between off-center strikes, doubled dies, mules, broadstrikes, and post-mint damage, plus the records to check before buying.
1 min readBuying GuideHow to Spot a Counterfeit or Doctored Coin
Use weight, dimensions, surfaces, mintmark details, holder inspection, and certification records as screening checks. Learn the warning signs of altered coins and fake slabs.
1 min readMintage sources
Mintage figures are U.S. Mint production records, cross-checked against the published tables below on 2026-07-31. Where those tables disagree, the disagreement is disclosed on the affected page rather than resolved silently.
- Wikipedia, "Peace dollar" mintage figures table — Per-mint breakdown cited to Breen, Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins.
- CoinMintages.com, Peace dollar mintages — Lists the 1921 and 1922 high-relief strikings separately from the regular issues.
- GovMint, silver Peace dollar mintage chart — Published as sourced from U.S. Mint records.
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