1928-S

The 1928-S, at 1,632,000 pieces, ran the larger 1928 mint output and paired with the famous 1928 Philadelphia Key Date to form the final pre-Depression Peace Dollar year. The post-Pittman demand collapse that had defined 1927 continued through 1928, and Denver took the year off entirely for the third consecutive year. The 1928-S is the last San Francisco Peace Dollar struck before the production hiatus that ran from 1929 through 1933, and the issue therefore closes a chapter of the series rather than functioning as a routine mid-run pickup. Anthony de Francisci's Low Relief design carried through unchanged.

Strike quality on the 1928-S follows the established San Francisco pattern of weak hair detail above Liberty's ear and softness on the eagle's breast feathers. The 1928-S typically shows softer central detail than the 1922-S or 1923-S despite the much lower mintage, since the S-mint strike issues are not principally a function of die wear but of the relief-versus-pressure balance that defined San Francisco's tooling throughout the series. Most surviving examples grade MS60 to MS63 from circulation and bag handling, with PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC populations clustering at MS62 and MS63. MS65 is genuinely scarce and commands material premiums; MS66 and above is condition-rare across the certified pool.

The 1928-S is a regular common date by mintage classification but a meaningful condition rarity above MS64. Pricing has held flat at the low end and trended upward at the high end, mirroring the broader S-mint strike-quality pattern across the series. The 1928-S pairs with the 1928 Philadelphia Key Date as the final pre-hiatus year and is a recommended pickup at mid-grade for collectors building the back half of the series. The date-set builder typically reaches for the 1928-S after acquiring the 1928-P, since the S-mint Mint State examples cost a fraction of the matched Philadelphia Key Date despite similar overall scarcity. For the pre-Depression production wind-down and the broader 1928 collecting context, see the Peace Dollar series history.