1921 Silver Dollar Value:Morgan and Peace Dollars Explained

What is a 1921 silver dollar worth?

Sources:NGC: 1921 Morgan dollar·NGC: 1921 Peace dollar

Use HeriBase to begin identifying and documenting the coin, then compare the correct issue and condition with specialist references. If authenticity, grade or a potentially valuable variety remains uncertain, use our guide to online appraisal and physical authentication to choose the next assessment before assigning a firm value.

New to silver dollars? Follow this order:identify the design→check the mint mark→assess condition→compare matching sale records.

1921 silver dollar price chart: Morgan vs. Peace

Sources:NGC: 1921 Morgan dollar·NGC: 1921-D Morgan dollar·NGC: 1921-S Morgan dollar·NGC: 1921 Peace dollar

Price review: September 11, 2026. The source months in the table are retained as historical snapshots; checking a page again does not make its older prices current. These broad ranges cover circulated coins across different levels of wear. They should not be applied directly to damaged coins, exceptional varieties or certified Mint State examples. Because the snapshots have different dates, small differences between the Morgan rows should not be interpreted as a precise mint-mark premium.

Grade-specific guide examples

Use a price for the coin’s actual grade. XF means Extremely Fine; AU50 is About Uncirculated; MS63 is a numerical Mint State grade. The examples below show published guide figures, separately from the completed sales later in this article.

All entries reviewed September 11, 2026. Review dates and source update dates serve different purposes: these are dated reference figures, not live quotes. PCGS and NGC use different guide methodologies. The NGC column is labeled XF; no more specific numerical XF grade is inferred.

A broad MS label in an identification App does not establish MS63. To price a 1921-D or 1921-S coin, use its own mint-specific guide entry; do not substitute the Philadelphia figure.See dated, graded auction examples belowto understand how actual results can differ from guide figures.

Which silver dollars were made in 1921?

The United States produced both designs in 1921. The Morgan dollar returned for its final year of original production, while the Peace dollar introduced a new design commemorating peace following World War I.

Start with the design: Morgan has Liberty wearing a cap and an eagle with spread wings; Peace has Liberty wearing a radiating crown and a perched eagle. In the photographs below, obverse means the front and reverse means the back.

1921 Morgan dollar

1921 Peace dollar

Sources:U.S. Mint: Dollar Coins

Once you know whether your coin is a Morgan or a Peace dollar, the next step is to identify where it was minted. The mint-mark guide below explains what to look for.

For other dates and the five historic mints, use the Morgan silver dollar series guide. A coin dated 1922 belongs in the 1922 Peace dollar guide; do not transfer this year’s prices to it.

Where were 1921 silver dollars minted, and what do D and S mean?

A mint mark is a small letter identifying the mint that struck a coin. It identifies the production location, not the year. For 1921 Morgan dollars, D means Denver and S means San Francisco; Philadelphia coins have no mint mark.

The 1921 Morgan dollar was produced at Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco. On branch-mint coins, inspect the reverse beneath the wreath for the small mint mark. Philadelphia examples have no mint mark. Record the mint before comparing prices: a sale for a 1921-S coin does not automatically provide a suitable benchmark for a Philadelphia example.

Sources:NGC: 1921 Morgan dollar history·GOVMINT: Morgan mint-mark location

References:NGC: 1921 Morgan issues·PCGS: 1921 Peace dollar.

1921-D Morgan Dollar · Denver

1921-S Morgan Dollar · San Francisco

Why does the 1921 Peace dollar deserve separate attention?

The 1921 Peace dollar was the first issue in the series and was struck in high relief. Its recorded mintage was 1,006,473, making it a different collecting proposition from the high-production 1921 Morgan issues.

PCGS notes that weakness in the central design is common, including on Mint State examples. Soft detail is therefore not automatically circulation wear; strike quality and preservation must be considered together.

An exceptional auction result illustrates the upper end without defining an ordinary coin’s value. PCGS records a $132,000 sale for an MS67 example on August 22, 2018, at Stack’s Bowers. That result belongs to a specific, exceptionally graded coin, not an unidentified inherited dollar.

Sources:PCGS CoinFacts: 1921 High Relief Peace dollar

How much silver is in a 1921 silver dollar?

Silver content gives you a metal-value reference. Collector value also depends on the particular issue and its condition.

The original 1921 silver dollars have a standard weight of approximately 26.73 grams and a composition of 90% silver, containing approximately 0.7734 troy ounce of pure silver.

Sources:NGC: Morgan specifications·NGC: 1921 Peace dollar

At a hypothetical silver price of $50 per troy ounce, the contained silver would be worth approximately $38.67. This is an illustration, not a current silver quotation.

Keep this calculation separate from the collector estimate. It measures metal content; it does not account for the coin’s date, condition, variety or buyer demand.

What makes one 1921 silver dollar worth more than another?

Once the design and mint are identified, compare coins with similar preservation and surfaces. A different grade, cleaning history or confirmed variety can make a price comparison unsuitable.

Condition determines which price comparison fits

An attractive photograph alone is insufficient to assign a precise grade. Wear, surface marks and the preservation of original surfaces all affect the assessment. Compare your coin with grade-reference images, treating the result as preliminary—especially when the distinction between circulated and Mint State condition materially changes the estimate. Our coin grading scale guide explains how numerical grades and surface designations affect price comparisons.

Sources:PCGS Photograde

Compare six useful condition examples

MS (Mint State) means no circulation wear; AU (About Uncirculated) shows slight wear. The circulated grades below AU show progressively more wear. Compare Liberty’s hair, cheek, the eagle’s feathers and the remaining lettering—not brightness alone.

Images extracted from the supplied original PDF of thePCGS Grading Standardsillustrations. These Morgan dollars have different dates and are not all 1921 examples. MS-70* is a rendered demonstration, not an actual MS70 coin. Ungradable is not a numerical grade.

Select a grade image to enlarge it and compare adjacent grades.

MS-65

MS-63

AU-58

XF-40

F-12

G-4

View all 31 examples: MS-70* to Ungradable

MS-70*

MS-69

MS-68

MS-67

MS-66

MS-65

MS-64

MS-63

MS-62

MS-61

MS-60

AU-58

AU-55

AU-53

AU-50

XF-45

XF-40

VF-35

VF-30

VF-25

VF-20

F-15

F-12

VG-10

VG-8

G-6

G-4

AG-3

FR-2

PO-1

Ungradable

Cleaning, damage and Details grades

A Details grade describes a coin with a problem that prevents a normal numerical grade. It is separate from this wear scale and does not mean the same thing as the Ungradable example shown above.

A bright surface does not necessarily mean better preservation. NGC identifies improper cleaning and other surface problems as reasons a coin may receive a Details grade instead of a numerical grade. “Uncirculated Details—Cleaned” should not be priced as though it were an undamaged numerical Mint State example. See how to identify cleaning marks for photographs comparing cleaning hairlines, contact marks and other surface clues.

Sources:NGC: Details Grading

What is a coin variety?

A variety is a recognized design or die-detail difference within an issue. A VAM attribution is a catalog identifier used for Morgan and Peace dollar die varieties. See the PCGS references forMorgan VAMsandPeace VAMs.

Date and mint mark are not always the end of identification. PCGS lists individual 1921 Morgan die varieties, including VAM attributions. If you suspect a variety, obtain clear close-up photographs and compare the actual identifying features. Establish the attribution before researching a premium; a visible line or unusual detail alone does not establish rarity or additional value.

Sources:PCGS: 1921 Morgan VAM 4

1921 Morgan dollar identification: HeriBase compared with PCGS and NGC

In this example, HeriBase identifies a United States 1921 Morgan dollar. The type, denomination and year agree with the PCGS and NGC catalog entries; the displayed mintage and silver content also match PCGS specifications for the Philadelphia issue. These independently checkable matches support the usefulness of the result for identifying and recording this coin.

How the identification fields compare with authoritative references

Field	HeriBase result	Comparison with PCGS / NGC
Coin type	Morgan Dollar	Matches the Morgan dollar series listed byPCGS CoinFactsandNGC Coin Explorer.
Country, denomination and year	USA · 1 dollar · 1921	Matches the United States 1921 $1 Morgan catalog identification in both references.
Mintage	44,690,000	Matches PCGS’s recorded Philadelphia mintage. This identifies the catalog issue used by the App; the coin’s reverse mint mark remains the way to distinguish Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco.
Silver content	24.06g Silver	Consistent with PCGS specifications: 26.73g total weight × 90% silver = 24.057g, rounded to 24.06g.
Condition category	MS (Mint State)	Uses the same broad condition terminology as professional grading. This result supplies a category, without a numerical score such as MS63 or MS65.

References:PCGS: 1921 Morgan dollar;NGC: 1921 Morgan dollar.

What this example tells a beginner

HeriBase brings the coin’s identity and key catalog facts together in one result. In this example, those basic details are consistent with specialist references, giving a beginner a useful starting point for further research and a collection record.

The distinction is grading precision: the screenshot gives an MS category, while professional numerical grades distinguish levels within Mint State. The displayedUSD $95.00 reference priceis an App estimate; a like-for-like price comparison requires the same mint, numerical grade and pricing date. This single example supports the catalog matches above, without establishing an overall accuracy rate or authenticating the physical coin.

Explore HeriBase →

How do you compare prices before buying or selling?

A guide value, a seller’s asking price and a completed sale answer different questions. Research what comparable coins have actually achieved using an auction-results reference.

Sources:PCGS Auction Prices Realized

• Match the design, date and mint mark.
• Record the grade and grading service.
• Check for a variety or surface-problem designation.
• Note the sale date and whether the amount includes a buyer’s premium.

Choose several closely comparable transactions where available. An exceptional sale or an unmatched grade can distort the estimate.

Completed sales at everyday collecting grades

These four individual records show MS63 Morgan and AU50 Peace dollars, rather than record-setting MS67 examples. All are Philadelphia issues. Prices are the amounts labeled “Sale Price” by PCGS Auction Prices; the source links identify the auction and lot.

Records checked September 11, 2026. Buyer’s premium treatment is not separately specified in the cited PCGS records; no fee adjustment has been made. Shipping and tax are not added. Dates use the month precision shown by the records.

The same numerical grade can produce very different results. For example, the two MS63 Morgan records above differ substantially; the older holder is also an additional collecting attribute. These selected sales are examples, not a market average or a recommended price range. Examine each lot’s photographs, surfaces, holder and auction context before treating it as comparable to your coin.

Frequently asked questions

Sources:NGC: 1921 Morgan dollar history·PCGS CoinFacts: 1921 High Relief Peace dollar·NGC: Details Grading·HeriBase official website

What to remember about 1921 silver dollar value

Identify Morgan or Peace first, then the mint and condition. The historical circulated guide ranges on this page put ordinary Morgans at $52–$71 across the three mints and Peace dollars at $125–$525. Different source months and levels of wear are included; these are comparison ranges, not a single current price.

Keep uncirculated, cleaned, damaged and specialist-variety coins in separate comparisons. Preserve the surfaces, match recent sold examples and resolve uncertain attribution before assigning a premium. An app estimate or a high asking price does not establish the selling value.

References, authorship and research scope