1928

The 1928 Philadelphia is the Key Date of the Peace Dollar series at 360,649 pieces, the lowest Philadelphia output of the entire run and the smallest mintage figure across any P-mint date. The post-Pittman commercial demand for dollar coinage had collapsed entirely by 1928, and the Federal Reserve channels saw no reason to absorb additional dollar coins beyond the minimum statutory production. The 1928-P is the final Philadelphia issue before the Great Depression production hiatus that suspended Peace Dollar production from 1929 through 1933. Anthony de Francisci's Low Relief design carried through unchanged on the obverse and reverse.

Strike quality on the 1928 Philadelphia is consistent with late-decade Low Relief work and benefits from the lower volume and corresponding fresh die states. Liberty's hair detail and the eagle's breast feathers come up cleanly on most coins from early die states. Most surviving examples grade MS62 to MS64 from circulation and broken Treasury bag releases, with PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC populations clustering at MS63 and MS64. MS65 is genuinely scarce and commands meaningful premium pricing, with MS66 and above condition-rare across the certified pool; only two PCGS certifications exist at MS66+ with none finer recorded, and an MS66+ example realized $129,250 at auction in April 2023.

The 1928 Philadelphia is the recognized Key Date of the series and the centerpiece pickup for any serious Peace Dollar collection. Pricing has held strong for decades, with the differential between MS64 and MS65 the widest in the series and MS66+ approaching trophy-pickup territory. The 1928-P pairs with the 1928-S as the year's two issues, since Denver had skipped production for the second consecutive year. For the Pittman Act recoinage wind-down, the post-1928 Depression hiatus, and the Morgan reverse-modification history that came to light decades later, see the Peace Dollar series history.