The 1934-S Peace Dollar is the king pin key date in the Peace Dollar series. A total of only 1,011,000 coins were ever minted. It is not the lowest mintage in the series, but is considered the key date because there are so few that survived in mint state condition. A nice brilliant uncirculated 1934-S Peace Dollar currently can run you around $4,000. However, higher mint state grades can run you $30,000! This is the most expensive coin in the series.
The Peace Dollar was originally designed by Anthony D. Francisci, an Italian immigrant. Anthony was chosen in a contest hosted by the United States Commission for Fine Arts out of eight participants. The Commission gave Anthony one guideline for the new silver dollar that was to replace the Morgan Silver Dollar. That guideline was to design a coin that symbolized peace as the world war had just ended. As a result, Anthony's obverse design for the Peace Dollar featured a goddess of liberty. There reverse of the coin featured a bald eagle with a olive branch in its talons, further symbolizing peace.
Each Peace Dollar has a total of .7734 ounces of silver per coin. It is composed of 90% silver and 10% copper, has a weight of 26.73 grams, a diameter of 38.1m, and features a reeded edge. These are the exact same specifications as the Morgan Silver Dollar, the predecessor to the Peace Dollar. However, collectors often note that the Peace Dollar is not struck as well as the Morgan Dollar and thus why some collectors prefer Morgan Silver Dollars.
