1926-D

The 1926-D, at 2,348,700 pieces, marked Denver's return to Peace Dollar production after two consecutive years off in 1924 and 1925. The figure is the second-lowest D-mint output of the series after the 1927-D 1.27-million figure and reflects the post-Pittman commercial demand pattern that had reshaped production schedules across all three mints. Anthony de Francisci's Low Relief design carried through to Denver unchanged after the two-year hiatus, with the standard radiate Liberty obverse and rock-perched eagle reverse continuing the configuration in service since 1922.

Strike quality on the 1926-D runs notably better than other low-mintage D-mint dates in the series, since the fresh die state across most of the year's production produced cleaner Liberty hair detail and sharper eagle feathers than the typical Denver Peace Dollar. Most surviving examples grade MS62 to MS65 from broken Treasury bag releases, with PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC populations clustering at MS64 and MS65. MS66 is available and is one of the better D-mint Peace Dollar opportunities for collectors targeting upper-gem grade examples. No major doubled-die or repunched-mintmark varieties command material premiums outside the Van Allen-Mallis specialist market.

The 1926-D is a regular common date and an inexpensive D-mint pickup at the MS65 level, with pricing held flat for two decades at modest levels above the 1923-D. The 1926-D anchors the middle of the D-mint Peace Dollar sequence and pairs naturally with the 1926-P and 1926-S to complete the year's three-mint set. The 1926-D is also the easiest of the four D-mint Peace Dollars to find with original fresh-die-state surfaces, and registry-set builders frequently use this issue as the upper-gem-grade anchor for the Denver portion of the set. Treasury bag releases from the 1950s and 1960s remain the standard source of high-grade examples. For the post-Pittman production patterns and the Denver hiatus context, see the Peace Dollar series history.