1923 Silver Dollar Value: How Much is it Worth Today?
1923 was a time unlike any other; the Great War has just ended and everyone is in a celebratory mood. Peacetime has never been much appreciated and beloved by Americans after suffering a global conflict. The Peace dollar was created to commemorate this peacetime, and a 1923 silver dollar is a souvenir of the American wishes for peace.
In this article, we will talk about the value, varieties, grading system, errors, and frequently asked questions for the 1923 silver dollar coin.
1923 Silver Dollar Value Chart |
||||
| Mintmark | Good (G4) | Very Fine (VF20) | Almost Uncirculated (AU50) | Uncirculated (MS65) |
| 1923 No Mint Mark P Silver Dollar Value | $29 | $45 | $52 | $187 |
| 1923 D Silver Dollar Value | $29 | $45 | $58 | $1,355 |
| 1923 S Silver Dollar Value | $29 | $45 | $58 | $2,554 |
1923 No Mint Mark P Silver Dollar Value
The 1923 silver dollar is part of a series of coins called the Peace dollar. It was minted from 1921 to 1928, and then from 1934 to 1935. The coin was made to commemorate the peace after World War I, which ended in 1918.
The 1923 issue was among the highest mintages in the Peace dollar series; in fact, the 1923 issue is second only to the 1922 mintage, with over 56 million pieces minted. With over 84 million pieces minted in 1922, there was no need to introduce any more dollar coins into circulation. Hence, these coins were kept hidden in bags.
Curiously, since there were only a few 1923 silver dollars released into circulation, they were considered to be rare earlier on. In the early 1940s, auctions priced the 1923 silver dollars to be the most expensive among the Peace dollar series.
However, bags of 1923 Peace dollars were being released and kept by banks in the mid-1940s, which were slowly being paid out to investors and dealers up until 1964. By the end of this period, the 1923 issue become one of the most common Peace dollar issues, together with 1922, 1924, and 1925 issues.
You can expect 1923 P Peace dollars to be generally well-struck, exhibiting a nice luster. You might also find some milky-white spots on the coins. Other issues also have these spots, and they can be quite stubborn, if not impossible, to remove. Some coins might also have some yellowish stains on the rim.
The 1923 P silver dollar is readily available across all grade conditions, even up until the gem conditions. In fact, the 1923 P is considered to be the most common Peace dollar in uncirculated grades. Together with their general aesthetic appeal and low price, they’re a great starting piece to a Peace dollar collection.
You can find a 1923 P silver dollar for as low as $29, for a G4 piece. Their price decently increases as the grade increases, up to $185 for an MS65 coin. At gem grades, the price starts to increase steeply, starting from $285 for an MS65+ specimen to $875 for an MS66+ piece. The highest quality grades, MS67 and MS67+, command an especially high price, at $5,250 and $48,500, respectively.
The current auction record price is $39,950 for an MS67+ specimen.
1923 D Silver Dollar Value
The Denver Mint only produced Peace dollars for five years, and 1923 is one of those issues. Similar to the 1923 P dollar, the 1923 D dollar was the second-highest mintage across all D-mintmark issues at over 6 million pieces produced.
The 1923 D silver dollar also had a similar fate as the 1923 P dollar. Due to the sheer amount of circulated dollars from the record-breaking mintage in the previous year, many 1923 D pieces were put in storage vaults, giving them a short-lived sense of rarity. By the time the government released its bags of 1923 dollar pieces to the public from the 1930s to the 1950s, the 1923 D issue quickly became the most common mintmarked coins in the series.
The Denver Mint had a reputation in the mid-1920s for weak and light strikes on several coins. The 1923 D pieces were no exception, exhibiting weak strikes on the rim, as well as on the center of the reverse. However, the obverse fares better, with a lustrous surface and a strong strike.
The 1923 D silver dollar is common across all grade conditions, especially around the EF and AU grades, perhaps due to their actual circulation being later than their mintage year. At the low Mint State grades, the piece also remains plentiful, while starting to become relatively scarce as the grade increases to the gem conditions. It’s not so rare that you will have a hard time finding these coins, at least.
The 1923 D dollar commands a similar premium as the 1923 P dollar. A G4 piece would cost you $29, and this price hikes up the higher the grade becomes, up to MS60 at $110. At uncirculated grades, the prices become steep, going as high as $550 for an MS64+ piece. Gem specimens have an even higher price, starting at $1,200 (MS65) and up to a whopping $120,000 (MS67).
The current auction record price is $120,000, for an MS67 specimen.
1923 S Silver Dollar Value
While every other variety of the 1923 issue was the second-highest mintage per mint, the San Francisco Mint’s 1923 issue is actually its highest mintage of Peace dollars, with over 19 million pieces produced.
Also unlike the other varieties, the 1923 S did not experience a period where it was considered rare. Instead, it was available inexpensively throughout the 1930s. Additionally, more 1923 S pieces were also released together from the government’s stash of bags.
While the 1923 P pieces are often lauded for their good strike, the 1923 S is rife with weakly-struck specimens. In fact, among the 1923 issues, the 1923 S is considerably rare at gem grades. Even uncirculated pieces are generally aesthetically unappealing. The reverse of these coins has the most distinct weak strikes, with a dull luster.
The 1923 S piece starts at $29 for a G4 coin, then escalates up to $175 for an MS63 piece, which is where most of the population of the 1923 S specimens are found. MS64 pieces sell for $360, while gem specimens immediately jump at $2,600 for an MS65 piece. If you can manage an MS67 piece, you can sell it off for $110,000.
The current auction record is an MS66 piece, which had an auction price of $49,200.
1923 Silver Dollar Grading
The 1923 silver dollar is often graded with the universal Sheldon coin grading scale. Coin collectors and numismatists use this scale to judge the quality of a coin. The scale starts from 1, for the worst quality, then up to 70 for the most pristine condition. Aside from a number, there are also some qualitative categories such as Good, Fine, Almost Uncirculated, and Mint State.
Rare 1923 Silver Dollar Error List
1923 Silver Dollar Rotated Reverse Error
The rotated reverse error means exactly what it says: the design of the reverse is rotated a few degrees off. Usually, the obverse and the reverse designs are in the same orientation such that flipping an upright coin sideways would result in an upright opposite design. If the design is off by at least 30 degrees, you might be able to fetch a good price for the coin.
We know of three coins with this error: one that was rotated for 75 degrees fetched a price of $765 on an MS61 coin, while an XF40 coin with a reverse rotated for around 90 degrees was sold for $201.25. Another coin was also sold for $300 with the same error.
1923 Silver Dollar Die Adjustment Strike (P and S)
A die adjustment strike refers to strikes where very little pressure is used. As the name implies, these strikes are often used to adjust the die to have a perfect strike on the succeeding planchets. These coins, also called die trials, are often discarded and don’t join general circulation. However, some slip and reach the hands of collectors.
Both the 1923 P and S dollar pieces have been found with coins containing this error. This error is very prominent: the sides of the design are virtually unstruck, and the design in the center is also weakly struck so you may not be able to distinguish certain details from it. One coin with this error was sold for $2,820 in an auction, so you might be interested in finding these kinds of coins.
1923 Silver Dollar P VAM-1A Error
Although VAMs are considered to be varieties and not necessarily errors, some are caused by die breaks. The 1923-P VAM-1A is called Whisker Jaw. This refers to a prominent piece of extra silver metal that you can see across the jaw of Liberty. The “whisker” is large enough that it is visible to the naked eye.
Peace dollar dies break first at the center area, and the Whisker Jaw is one of the few notable breaks that might occur over the lifetime of a die. There is another variety of this VAM, codenamed VAM-1A2, which includes a radial die break between L and I of LIBERTY on the obverse. This variety is also just as common as the main VAM-1A.
The current auction record price for this VAM is $1,998 for an MS66+ piece.
1923 Silver Dollar Doubled Die Error
There are several doubled die errors on the 1923 silver dollar. A doubled die error refers to a manufacturing error on the dies during the hubbing process. The hubbing process is when new dies are created from hubs. Usually, hubs are struck more than once on a die to place the design on it. If a subsequent strike does not exactly align with the previous strikes, the doubled die error appears.
There are several VAMs listed for the doubled die error. There is the 1923-P VAM-3, which is a doubled die reverse error, and the 1923-P VAM-2, which is called the Doubled Tiara. The 1923-D VAM-2 was called the Doubled Eagle’s Head, and the 1923-S VAM-3 was called the Doubled Lower Reverse Rays.
A 1923-P VAM-2 MS64 coin, which has the Doubled Tiara, was sold for $5,000.
1923 Silver Dollar FAQ
What makes a 1923 silver dollar rare?
Generally speaking, the 1923 silver dollars are not considered to be rare. In fact, across all Peace dollar issues, the 1923 issue is one of the most plentiful coins around, being the second-highest mintage in the entire series.
Back then, however, the 1923 silver dollars were considered rare. Because the 1922 issue was quite a lot, the demand for dollar coins was pretty low. Hence, many of the 1923 silver dollar coins were stashed in storage, and not a lot was released for circulation.
Where is the mint mark on a 1923 Peace silver dollar?
Among the three varieties, only the 1923 D and 1923 S coins have mintmarks. You can find their mintmarks on the reverse of the coin, between the O in ONE and the eagle’s tail feathers. A D mintmark indicates that it is from the Denver Mint, while an S mintmark indicates that it is from the San Francisco Mint.
If a coin has no mint mark, then it comes from the Philadelphia Mint.
Is a 1923 silver dollar real silver?
The 1923 silver dollar, as well as all Peace dollars, are made up of 90% silver. If you were to melt the coin down and extract the silver metal from it, you would be able to get 0.77344 troy oz of silver, valued at $16.86 (as of 2023).
Which 1923 Peace dollar is worth the most?
Because the 1923 Peace dollar is a relatively common coin, you can easily get one for cheap. At circulated grades, you’re looking at sub-$100 prices. However, uncirculated coins can get quite expensive. Currently, the auction record price for a 1923 Peace dollar is a whopping $120,000 for a 1923 D MS67 piece. You can also expect a 1923 S MS67 piece to be worth around that amount, too.
