1934 was an important point in American history. As peacetime was starting after the Great War, people were looking for ways to commemorate this glorious time. If you found a 1934 Peace dollar somewhere, you are holding that exact piece of history.
You might be interested in knowing about the 1934 Peace dollar’s value, varieties, grading, errors, history, and common questions that you might have about this significant marker of history.
1934 Silver Dollar Details
The 1934 silver dollar is part of a series of coins called the Peace dollar. It is coined in commemoration of the peace after the Great War. It was minted from 1921 to 1928 when production ceased due to a lack of silver. In 1934, they were minted again then finally ended minting the next year.
- Category: Peace Dollar
- Mints: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco
- Year: 1934
- Total Mintage: 3,534,557
- Obverse Designer: Anthony de Francisci
- Reverse Designer: Anthony de Francisci
- Edge: Reeded
- Diameter: 38.1 millimeters (1.5 inches)
- Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight: 26.73 grams
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1934 Silver Dollar Value Chart
| Mint Mark | Good (G-4) | Fine (VF-12) | Extremely Fine (XF-40) | Mint State (MS-65) |
| 1934 (P) No Mint Mark Silver Dollar Value | $36 | $47 | $54 | $853 |
| 1934 D Silver Dollar Value | $36 | $47 | $54 | $2,064 |
| 1934 S Silver Dollar Value | $75 | $88 | $204 | $9,101 |
1934 Silver Dollar Values and Varieties Guides
1934 (P) No Mint Mark Silver Dollar
- Type: Peace Dollar
- Edge: Reeded
- Mint mark: None
- Place of minting: Philadelphia
- Year of minting: 1934
- Face value: $1
- $ price: $36 to $85,000
- Quantity produced: 954,057
- Designer: Anthony de Francisci
1934 is considered a semi-key date in the series, given that the mintage of Peace Dollars resumed this year after it was halted in 1928. With only over 900,000 coins minted, they command quite a premium on the market.
Quite ironically, lower-grade coins are considered to be rarer than Mint State pieces. Coins from VF20 to AU58 can be hard to find, despite their prices not reflecting such rarity. In fact, these low-grade specimens might be considered the second rarest among the circulated coins in the series, next to the 1928 issue.
There are plenty of Mint State coins available, perhaps due to bags of 1934 dollars being paid out through banks throughout the 1930s. You’ll find a lot of good MS60 or MS65 on numismatic channels, although being a semi-key date will definitely cost you a hefty amount of money.
Circulated 1934 P silver dollars can go from $36 to $165. Mint State coins will set you back $575, and that’s before looking at gem specimens. At MS66, you’re looking at $3,000 per piece, and the highest grade available, MS67, will cost a whopping $85,000.
If that does not amaze you, the current auction record price for an MS67 gem is $108,000. That’s a lot of money for a lot of numismatic history!
1934 D Silver Dollar
- Type: Peace Dollar
- Edge: Reeded
- Mint mark: D
- Place of minting: Denver
- Year of minting: 1934
- Face value: $1
- $ price: $36 to $125,000
- Quantity produced: 1,569,500
- Designer: Anthony de Francisci
Minting only around 1.5 million pieces, the Denver mintage has the highest population of the 1934 issue. However, it was noted that there are very few hoards of this coin known, and it has been thought that these coins instead spilled into general circulation.
Circulated coins are not exactly easy or hard to find. With a bit of effort, you should be able to find them. On the other hand, uncirculated coins are rare. In fact, these Mint State coins are considered the second rarest among the uncirculated coins in the series. If you only count the gem specimens, 1934 D dollars are considered the rarest.
1934 D dollars also start at $36, working up through the circulated grades until $165. Considering the rarity of the uncirculated coins, they can go as high as $800 before reaching gem examples. You will see MS66 coins priced at $5,750, and the highest grade available, MS67+, can set you back a whopping $125,000.
The current auction record is an MS67 coin, which sold for $86,250.
1934 S Silver Dollar
- Type: Peace Dollar
- Edge: Reeded
- Mint mark: S
- Place of minting: San Francisco
- Year of minting: 1934
- Face value: $1
- $ price: $36 to $85,000
- Quantity produced: 1,011,000
- Designer: Anthony de Francisci
Initial mintage indeed does not immediately translate to rarity, since despite having a slightly higher mintage than the Philadelphia Mint, the 1934 S is considered to be a key date of the entire series. With a bit over a million coins minted, less than 5% are considered to have survived, and only a small fraction of this is uncirculated.
There are two possible reasons for the rarity of the 1934 S coins, especially in Mint State grades. Firstly, early collectors paid no mind to a rather modern coin during the 1940s, so it didn’t have the “value” of time. Secondly, they initially thought that the 1934 S coins, like other coins before them, were still in the San Francisco Mint, to be released to the public much later.
From the 1940s to 1960s, the Treasury released its bags of silver dollars to the public, which was then when they realized that most of the mintage had already been in circulation in the 1930s. Some rolls were released during the 1960s and 1970s, but not enough for everyone to go around.
As a key date in the series, the 1934 S coins command the highest premium among the other 1934 Peace dollars. Circulated coins still start at $36, although they quickly ramp up to $1,950 for AU58+ coins.
Being the rarest in the series in Mint State, you’re looking at $2,650 for uncirculated grades. Gem examples start at $12,500, and the highest grade you can find, MS66+, will cost you $85,000.
The current auction record price is $79,313, which is lower than the rest of the other auction records because it can only be found at an MS66+ grade.
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1934 Silver Dollar History
The 1934 silver dollar is part of a series of coins called the Peace dollar. Initially minted in 1921, it ceased production in 1928, as there was no more silver to make coins from. It resumed production again in 1934, then halted the next year.
The Peace dollar has quite a history to tell: when the United States melted over 270 million Morgan silver dollars to sell silver bullion to the British government through the Pittman Act of 1918, the Mint was ordered to reproduce the dollar coins that were melted.
While the only Denver-minted Morgan dollars were produced in 1921, Frank Duffield earned the support of the public when he asked to have a “victory coin” to commemorate the peace after World War I in his article on The Numismatist. Farran Zerbe, a numismatist, proposed that “in exchange for using our silver dollars to help win the war, we restore them in commemoration of victory and peace”.
With the Morgan dollar design past its mandatory 25-year run, a competition was held for the design of the “peace dollar.” Anthony de Francisci’s design, who was then the most inexperienced in coin design among the selected sculptors, was unanimously chosen, and he used his wife as a reference for Liberty.
The initial design of the Peace dollar was also met with controversy. On the reverse, the mandatory eagle element was shown clutching a broken sword and an olive branch. Many were not satisfied with the inclusion of the broken sword, since it seems to imply defeat from the Great War. It was later modified to not include the broken sword.
When the Pittman Act silver was all used up, production of the Peace dollar ceased in 1928. It resumed production in 1934 when domestic silver prices dropped to an all-time low, ensuring demand for the commodity. By 1935, over 7 million Peace dollars were already minted, and so minting was stopped.
1934 Silver Dollar Grading
Collectors rely on the Sheldon scale to judge the condition of a coin. It is a numerical scale from 1 to 70, 1 indicating the lowest condition of a coin, while 70 indicating a coin fresh from the mint. The scale is often accompanied by qualitative descriptors like Good, Fine, Almost Uncirculated, Choice Uncirculated, and Mint State.
Peace dollars are also graded using VAM varieties, a collection maintained by coin collectors. If a Peace dollar contains any deviation, you might want to check it up against a VAM entry and see the value of the coin.
Lists of 1934 Silver Dollar Error
As mentioned above, varieties of Peace dollars are collated in a VAM collection. VAM entries are created when the die that was used to mint the coins is either manufactured with errors or modified when it was maintained. We will list major VAM varieties in this list.
1. 1934 Silver Dollar Die Scratch Obverse
The 1934 silver dollar die scratch obverse error, officially listed as 1934-P VAM-1A, refers to a thin semi-circular scratch on the obverse of the coin that extends from the L in LIBERTY, through the G in GOD, and to the tip of Liberty’s neck.
This error is considered to be a scratch on the die, which then impressed into some coins. This error has only been observed on 1934 P coins, and this is usually found on Mint State coins.
The current auction record for coins with this error is an MS63 piece that sold for $335.
2. 1934 Silver Dollar Medium D Mintmark
The 1934 silver dollar medium D mintmark, officially listed as 1934-D VAM-2, refers to an unusually large D mintmark found on the reverse of the coin. The larger D mintmark is usually placed lower than the original position.
There are other VAMs registered that contain the medium D mintmark. As you might be able to tell, this error is only present on Denver-minted coins.
A certain variation, 1934-D VAM 3, set the current auction record for this error with an MS66+ coin, sold at $12,350. Aside from having the medium D mintmark, this coin also had the doubled die obverse (DDO) error, noticeable on Liberty’s face outline and tiara.
3. 1934 Silver Dollar Doubled Tiara/Rays
Similar to the 1934-D VAM 3, the 1934 silver dollar doubled tiara error is considered a variation of the doubled die obverse error, where the duplicated elements are only Liberty’s tiara on the obverse. This error is also officially referred to as 1934-S VAM 3.
The current auction record price is $7,500 for an MS65 134-S VAM 3 coin.
1934 Silver Dollar FAQs
Where is the mint mark on a 1934 Peace Dollar?
The mintmark on a 1934 Peace dollar coin can be found between the tip of the wings of the eagle and the O in ONE on the reverse of the coin. Philadelphia-minted coins do not have a mintmark on them, Denver coins have a D, while San Francisco mintages have an S.
How much are 1934 coins worth?
1934 silver dollars are worth quite a lot. Circulated coins can net you $36 at the very least, increasing up to $1,950 if you have the right variety. Mint State coins can fetch you much more: you can get $575 to $800 for these rare, high-quality coins.
Gem examples are worth so much more, too. If you happen to have religiously taken care of an incredibly well-preserved gem specimen, you might be able to sell it for over $85,000, depending on the variety.
What year is the rarest coin?
Among the Peace dollar series, the 1934 S issue is considered the rarest in Mint State. After collectors falsely believed that these coins were hidden away in the San Francisco Mint, they realized too late that most of the mintage has already joined general circulation, and rolls with freshly-minted coins were very few and far in between.
The rest of the 1934 issues are also considered rare. The 1934-P is considered a semi-key in the series, while the 1934-S is considered the key date in the entire Peace dollar series.