1921 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 1921

Morgan dollar production resumed to replace the coins melted under the Pittman Act. In December the Peace dollar by Anthony de Francisci was introduced, struck in high relief that first year.

New this year: the Peace Silver Dollar.

The Mint in the 1920s

After the First World War, demand for coins rose and fell sharply. A sharp recession in 1920 and 1921 cut demand for new coins, which is why several branch-mint issues of the early 1920s have low mintages. The Morgan dollar returned briefly in 1921 and the Peace dollar replaced it, struck in large numbers to replace the dollars melted under the Pittman Act.

Through the middle of the decade the economy boomed and the Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco mints struck cents, nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars in growing numbers. Dates that wore off easily, on the Buffalo nickel and the Standing Liberty quarter, are a feature of the era's coins. The decade ended with the stock market crash of October 1929.

How many coins were made in 1921

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 160,143,973 coins dated 1921 across 15 issues. That is 75% fewer than in 1920 (631,172,150). In 1922 the figure fell to 95,468,500.

It was the smallest year since 1915.

By mint: Philadelphia 99,436,973 (62%, down from 466,748,250), San Francisco 39,074,000 (24%, down from 81,417,500) and Denver 21,633,000 (14%, down from 83,006,400).

Those coins held about 68,735,847 troy ounces of pure silver and 511,320 troy ounces of gold.

1921 coins by denomination

Cents: 54,431,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Lincoln Wheat Cent, down 87% on 1920. The scarcest is the 1921-S (15,274,000) and the most plentiful the 1921 (39,157,000).

Nickels: 12,220,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Buffalo Nickel, down 85% on 1920. The scarcest is the 1921-S (1,557,000) and the most plentiful the 1921 (10,663,000).

Dimes: 2,310,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Mercury Dime, down 97% on 1920. The scarcest is the 1921-D (1,080,000) and the most plentiful the 1921 (1,230,000).

Quarters: 1,916,000 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Standing Liberty Quarter, down 95% on 1920.

Half Dollars: 1,002,000 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Walking Liberty Half Dollar, down 92% on 1920. The scarcest is the 1921-D (208,000) and the most plentiful the 1921-S (548,000).

Dollar Coins: 87,736,473 struck in 4 circulation issues of the Morgan Silver Dollar and Peace Silver Dollar. The scarcest is the 1921 (1,006,473) and the most plentiful the 1921 (44,690,000).

Gold Coins: 528,500 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, down 42% on 1920.

Every 1921 circulation issue at a glance

• 1921-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar: 208,000 struck, the lowest mintage of all 65 Walking Liberty Half Dollar issues, down from 1,551,000 in 1920, a famous date.
• 1921 Walking Liberty Half Dollar: 246,000 struck, 2nd lowest of 65 in the series, down from 6,372,000 in 1920.
• 1921 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle: 528,500 struck, 24th lowest of 52 in the series, up from 228,250 in 1920.
• 1921-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar: 548,000 struck, 5th lowest of 65 in the series, down from 4,624,000 in 1920.
• 1921 Peace Silver Dollar: 1,006,473 struck, 5th lowest of 24 in the series, a famous date.
• 1921-D Mercury Dime: 1,080,000 struck, 2nd lowest of 77 in the series, down from 19,171,000 in 1920.
• 1921 Mercury Dime: 1,230,000 struck, 3rd lowest of 77 in the series, down from 59,030,000 in 1920.
• 1921-S Buffalo Nickel: 1,557,000 struck, 6th lowest of 64 in the series, down from 9,689,000 in 1920.
• 1921 Standing Liberty Quarter: 1,916,000 struck, 12th lowest of 37 in the series, down from 27,860,000 in 1920.
• 1921 Buffalo Nickel: 10,663,000 struck, more than 57% of the series' 64 issues, down from 63,093,000 in 1920.
• 1921-S Lincoln Wheat Cent: 15,274,000 struck, 26th lowest of 140 in the series, down from 46,220,000 in 1920.
• 1921-D Morgan Silver Dollar: 20,345,000 struck, more than 97% of the series' 96 issues.

The 3 more plentiful issues are listed in the tables below.

Lincoln Wheat Cent: Initials return and the 1922 plain

In 1918 Brenner's initials returned, this time tiny on the truncation of Lincoln's shoulder, where they stayed for the rest of the series. Production stayed high after the war, but a recession cut 1921 output. In 1922 only Denver struck cents. Worn and filled dies at Denver produced coins with no visible mint mark, the 1922 Plain. Only one die pair shows a strong reverse and no trace of the D. That is the variety collectors want.

Branch mint cents of the 1920s are known for soft strikes. The 1924-D, 1926-S and other San Francisco and Denver dates often show weak hair detail and mushy wheat lines. The 1926-S is notoriously hard to find with red color. Most dates from this era survive in circulated grades with brown surfaces. Fully struck, red examples from the branch mints are much harder to find than Philadelphia coins.

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Buffalo Nickel: World War I output and the 1918/7-D

Demand during and after World War I kept production high, reaching more than 60 million at Philadelphia in 1919 and 1920. Denver and San Francisco each struck around 5 to 10 million a year, far less than Philadelphia. A postwar recession cut 1921 output. San Francisco struck only 1.6 million that year, a semi-key date.

The 1918/7-D overdate is one of the most famous varieties of the 20th century. A working die received an 8 over a 7 and went into use without the error being caught. The overdate is difficult to see on worn coins, so collectors check the shape of the 8. Most survivors from these years are worn, often with weak dates. Well struck branch mint coins are scarce.

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Standing Liberty Quarter: Raised dates and soft strikes

The Type 2 design kept the date raised on a step at Liberty's feet, where it wore away in circulation. Many Standing Liberty quarters from these years now have partial or missing dates. The 1918/7-S overdate, made when a 1917 die was repunched with an 8, is the major variety of the series and shows a faint 7 inside the 8.

Mintages were large in 1918 and 1920, but amid the postwar slump the 1921 run fell to 1,916,000. No quarters were struck in 1922. San Francisco's 1923-S, with 1,360,000 made, is a key. Branch mint coins from Denver and San Francisco often show weak strikes on Liberty's head, so a Full Head example of a 1919-D, 1920-D or 1923-S is far rarer than its mintage suggests.

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Walking Liberty Half Dollar: Soft strikes and scarce postwar dates

Mintages fell after World War I, reaching only 246,000 at Philadelphia, 208,000 at Denver and 548,000 at San Francisco in 1921. These three 1921 coins are the keys of the series. The 1921-D is the rarest. The 1919 issues from all three mints are also scarce, especially in better grades. Most survivors of these dates are well worn.

No halves were struck in 1922 or from 1924 to 1926. Only San Francisco struck them in 1923, 1927 and 1928. Weinman's design was hard to strike, so coins from these years often show flat centers on Liberty's head and left hand. Fully struck examples of the 1919-D, 1920-D and 1923-S are seldom seen. The 1929-D and 1929-S close the period with mintages near one and two million.

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Morgan Silver Dollar: The gap, the Pittman Act and the 1921 revival

No Morgan dollars were struck from 1905 through 1920, a gap of sixteen years. The Pittman Act of 1918 melted about 270 million silver dollars so the silver could be sold to Britain for use in India. The same law required the Treasury to buy domestic silver and strike replacement dollars, which set the stage for the 1921 coinage.

The Morgan design returned in 1921 from new, shallower hubs. Output reached 44.69 million at Philadelphia, 20.35 million at Denver and 21.70 million at San Francisco. The 1921-D was the only Morgan dollar Denver struck in the original series. Coins of 1921 usually show flatter detail than earlier Morgans. The Peace dollar replaced the design in December, so 1921 Morgans are the most common date of all.

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Peace Silver Dollar: High relief and the switch to low relief

Anthony de Francisci's Peace dollar commemorated the end of World War I. The first 1,006,473 were struck in late December 1921 in high relief and released in January 1922. The reverse eagle perches on a rock inscribed PEACE as the sun rises behind it. A broken sword in the original design was removed before release after objections that it suggested defeat.

The high relief strained the presses and wore dies quickly, so early in 1922 the Mint lowered the relief. Philadelphia then struck 51.7 million low relief dollars in 1922, joined by Denver and San Francisco, making 1922 the most common Peace dollar. A few 1922 high relief coins exist as rarities. The 1921 itself is scarce and often shows a weak strike in the center of Liberty's hair.

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Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle: Postwar mintages and overseas hoards

Double eagle production stopped from 1917 through 1919. When it resumed in 1920, much of the output went into Treasury vaults or abroad as reserves. The 1920-S and 1921 are rare because most were melted in the 1930s. The 1927-D is one of the great rarities of American gold, with only a handful known from 180,000 struck.

The Philadelphia coins of 1924 to 1928 are among the most common double eagles because many were shipped to European banks and later returned in quantity. Branch mint coins of the same years tell a different story. The 1924-D, 1924-S, 1925-D, 1925-S, 1926-D and 1926-S are scarce despite mostly large mintages because most were melted. Bag marks and rim nicks are the usual flaws on the repatriated Philadelphia coins.

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Mercury Dime: A slump, a missing year and the 1921 semi-keys

After the war the economy turned down and the Mint had plenty of dimes on hand. Silver was also going into Morgan dollars under the Pittman Act. Philadelphia struck just 1,230,000 dimes in 1921 and Denver 1,080,000, down from 59 million and 19 million the year before. San Francisco made none. No dimes at all were struck in 1922, the first year without them in nearly a century.

The 1921 and 1921-D are the semi-keys of the series. Few were set aside when new, so most survivors are heavily worn and uncirculated pieces are scarce. Production resumed in 1923 with 50,130,000 at Philadelphia and 6,440,000 at San Francisco. Denver struck no dimes that year, so a 1923-D Mercury dime is a counterfeit, whatever its condition. From 1924 all three mints were active again, with the branch mints making between about 5.1 and 7.1 million each and Philadelphia about 24 to 26 million.

Even a well-worn 1921 or 1921-D with a readable date carries a collector premium, so a coin with a clear date and full rims deserves a careful look before it goes in a pile of common silver. The branch mint coins of 1924 and 1925 are easy to find in worn grades but are often softly struck, which makes sharp uncirculated pieces with full bands difficult. The 1925-D, at 5,117,000, is the lowest mintage of those years.

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