1923 US Coins: Values & Mintages

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 1923

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 254,003,250 coins dated 1923 across 14 issues. That is 166% more than in 1922 (95,468,500). In 1924 the figure fell to 196,380,500.

By mint: Philadelphia 201,650,000 (79%, up from 53,112,500), San Francisco 43,840,000 (17%, up from 20,133,000) and Denver 8,513,250 (3.4%, down from 22,223,000).

Those coins held about 50,684,349 troy ounces of pure silver and 2,194,516 troy ounces of gold.

1923 coins by denomination

Cents: 83,423,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Lincoln Wheat Cent, up 1065% on 1922. The scarcest is the 1923-S (8,700,000) and the most plentiful the 1923 (74,723,000).

Nickels: 41,857,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Buffalo Nickel. The scarcest is the 1923-S (6,142,000) and the most plentiful the 1923 (35,715,000).

Dimes: 56,570,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Mercury Dime. The scarcest is the 1923-S (6,440,000) and the most plentiful the 1923 (50,130,000).

Quarters: 11,076,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Standing Liberty Quarter. The scarcest is the 1923-S (1,360,000) and the most plentiful the 1923 (9,716,000).

Half Dollars: 2,178,000 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Walking Liberty Half Dollar.

Dollar Coins: 56,631,000 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Peace Silver Dollar, down 33% on 1922. The scarcest is the 1923-D (6,811,000) and the most plentiful the 1923 (30,800,000).

Gold Coins: 2,268,250 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, down 44% on 1922. The scarcest is the 1923 (566,000) and the most plentiful the 1923-D (1,702,250).

Every 1923 circulation issue at a glance

• 1923 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle: 566,000 struck, 26th lowest of 52 in the series, down from 1,375,500 in 1922.
• 1923-S Standing Liberty Quarter: 1,360,000 struck, 5th lowest of 37 in the series, down from 6,380,000 in 1920.
• 1923-D Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle: 1,702,250 struck, more than 69% of the series' 52 issues, up from 453,000 in 1914.
• 1923-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar: 2,178,000 struck, 22nd lowest of 65 in the series, up from 548,000 in 1921.
• 1923-S Buffalo Nickel: 6,142,000 struck, 21st lowest of 64 in the series, up from 1,557,000 in 1921.
• 1923-S Mercury Dime: 6,440,000 struck, 17th lowest of 77 in the series, down from 13,820,000 in 1920.
• 1923-D Peace Silver Dollar: 6,811,000 struck, more than 65% of the series' 24 issues, down from 15,063,000 in 1922.
• 1923-S Lincoln Wheat Cent: 8,700,000 struck, 16th lowest of 140 in the series, down from 15,274,000 in 1921.
• 1923 Standing Liberty Quarter: 9,716,000 struck, more than 72% of the series' 37 issues, up from 1,916,000 in 1921.
• 1923-S Peace Silver Dollar: 19,020,000 struck, more than 91% of the series' 24 issues, similar to 1922.
• 1923 Peace Silver Dollar: 30,800,000 struck, more than 96% of the series' 24 issues, down from 51,737,000 in 1922.
• 1923 Buffalo Nickel: 35,715,000 struck, more than 84% of the series' 64 issues, up from 10,663,000 in 1921.

The 2 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: Branch mint keys and soft strikes

No nickels were struck in 1922. Production resumed in 1923. San Francisco struck small numbers in several years, creating the 1923-S, 1924-S and 1926-S semi-keys. The 1926-S, at 970,000, is the lowest mintage regular issue of the series. Denver and San Francisco coins from these years are known for weak strikes, especially on the bison's head and the date.

The Depression cut demand in 1930 and 1931. In 1931 only San Francisco struck nickels, 1.2 million pieces. The coin was saved by many people at the time. Survivors from the 1920s are usually found with worn or missing dates. Coins with full horn detail carry a premium. Dateless Buffalo nickels from this era are often treated with acid to reveal the date.

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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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Peace Silver Dollar: Pittman Act coinage winds down

Peace dollars continued in large numbers to replace the coins melted under the Pittman Act, with Philadelphia striking 30.8 million in 1923. Output fell after that year. San Francisco's 1924-S and 1925-S, each under two million, are scarce in high grades. Denver made no dollars in 1924 or 1925.

The 1927 issues from all three mints are relatively scarce. The 1928 from Philadelphia, with only 360,649 struck, is the lowest mintage of the series and is often confused with the more common 1928-S. Pittman purchases were complete in 1928 and coinage stopped. San Francisco dollars of these years are often softly struck. Many survivors show heavy bag marks from storage in Treasury vaults. Bags of Peace dollars also emerged in the Treasury releases of the early 1960s.

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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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