The Peace dollar type was struck from 1921 and 1935, and examples are rarely seen with dramatic, colorful toning. The featured 1923-S Peace dollar is the exception; graded Mint State 65+ by Professional Coin Grading Service, it sold for $8,700 at Heritage’s May 6 auction.

That cataloger praised the unusually bold strike for the San Francisco Mint issue and described its “mottled blue-green and autumn-gold toning, with an area of deeper crimson and forest-green in the upper left obverse margin.”

Roger Burdette wrote in his Guide Book of Peace Dollars that the 1923-S dollar ranks as one of the poorest-produced issues in the entire series, with most having lackluster surfaces often covered in contact marks. While common in lower Mint State grades, those graded MS-65 and finer are a prize. Burdette states, “In spite of the large mintage, finding quality Uncirculated examples is very difficult.”

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