Ron Guth
1922 was the first year in which Peace Dollars were produced at the San Francisco mint. The mintage for this year was the second largest of all the Peace Dollars, following closely behind the 1923-S. Compared to Peace Dollars made a the Philadelphia and Denver mints in 1922, the S-Mint suffers from a lower level of quality, particularly in the area of strike. Many 1922-S Peace Dollars show weakness in the centers on both sides, translating into weak hair details over Liberty's ear and poorly defined feathers on the highest points of the eagle. Many 1922-S Peace Dollar suffer from bagmarks and surface abrasions received as the coins were transported in bags from the San Francisco Mint. As a result, the grade encountered most frequently on a 1922-S Peace Dollar is MS-63. Unlike the 1922-P and 1922-D, where the populations in MS-63 and MS-64 are nearly equal, the population of the MS-64 1922-S is over 20% less than in MS-63. In MS-65, the population drops off significantly, leaving barely enough coins to satisfy collector demand. In MS-66, the 1922-S Peace Dollar is a true condition-rarity and only a few coins have earned this grade. As of this writing (8/21/2015), no MS-67 or better 1922-S Peace Dollars have been certified by PCGS. Luster ranges from flat and dullish to frosty white. Coins with hard, chrome-like surfaces are rare. Finding a 1922-S Peace Dollar that combines problem-free surfaces, a full strike, and bold luster is a real challenge.
According to a notice in the June 1934 issue of The Numismatist (p. 416), collectors could still purchase Uncirculated 1922-S Peace Dollars for "the face value of the coins and an amount sufficient to cover the mail charrges by first-class mail."
Q. David Bowers
The following narrative, with minor editing, is from my "Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia" (Wolfeboro, NH: Bowers and Merena Galleries, Inc., 1993).
Coinage Context
The 1922-S registered the second highest (1923-S is highest) mintage of any San Francisco Mint coin of the Peace dollar type. After they were struck, there was little commercial demand for them, so millions were stored for years in vaults of the San Francisco Mint.
Numismatic Information
Commentary: The 1922-S Peace dollar is very common if all grades are considered as a class, but closer study reveals that in high Mint. State levels, and sharply struck (an important caveat here), the 1922-S is a major rarity.
Hoards: In 1941, 1922-S and 1926-S dollars were released in quantity through the San Francisco Mint, where they had been stored for many years. Several bags or more came on the market, but the demand for Peace dollars was not very great. Although more could have been obtained from the Mint had dealers desired them, probably no more than 2,000 or 3,000 went into numismatic channels at the time. Quite a few went to Reno, which had an active casino industry (the growth of Las Vegas was yet to come).
In the spring and summer of 1942, many bags ($1,000 face value) of 1922-S, 1923-S, 1925-S, 1926-S, and 1927-S dollars were paid out by the San Francisco Mint. The prices of the 1922-S, 1923-S, and 1926-S dropped to the point at which George B. Rogers, in The Numismatist, September 1942, was offering Uncirculated coins for $1.25 each. Even at this low price, collector demand was not great. As a result, many of the bags went to banks and into general circulation in some areas of the West, where they became worn. Had the release occurred a quarter century later, all of these S-Mint Peace dollars would be exceedingly common today.
More bags of 1922-S came on the market in 1949 and 1950, and while some dealers such as W.E
