Key date coins are perhaps the heart of collecting American coins from the circulated 1800s and 1900s coins. These key date coins are generally more scarce or have a very specific attribute versus other dates within in a coin series. They also tend to realize high prices and tend to attract the most attention by coin collectors and investors who want exposure to numismatics in their collectibles portfolio.

Collectors Dashboard has been offering some analysis on multiple key date coins and one key date coin for collectors and investors alike is the 1928 P Peace Dollar from the mint in Philadelphia.

The lowest mintage of the Peace Dollar series is this 1928 Philadelphia minted coin. Collectability is found in low mintage coins, which attributes to the scarcity that collectors frequently desire. Mint State (MS60+) examples in auction separate themselves from the rest of the Peace Dollar series. The Peace Dollar mintage for 1928 Philadelphia examples were 360,649.

In the 1986 Handbook of United States Coins, a Mint State uncirculated example was listed in their price guide between $140.00 in MS60 to $265.00 in MS63. Zoom forward to today, and PCGS price guides in 2021 list the same to graded values at MS60 for $450.00 and MS63 for $650.00. PCGS in 2021 also lists an auction record sale back in 2011 for an MS67 graded example sold by Heritage Auctions for $48,875.00.

As for the 1928 Philadelphia minted coin having a low mintage, the higher mintage 1934 S is scarce in higher grades because of high circulation versus storage in bank vaults. These two coins pass each other with the 1928 P being worth $185.00 in G-4 condition higher than the 1934-S valued at $36.00 in the same condition. However the value shifts in MS65 where the 1928 P is worth $3,250.00 while the 1934 S in MS65 condition is valued at $10,000.00.

Auction prices separate this key date 1928 P from bullion value, which means it is a premium coin even in lower grades. When collecting dollar coins near uncirculated examples of the 1928 P sell for several hundred dollars each. Mint State examples saw a high sale of NGC graded MS66 in a Stack’s Bowers auction go for $16,800.00. April 2021 had a Heritage Auctions PCGS graded MS65+ example sell for $5,040.00. A 1928 P PCGS MS64 with a graded population of 2,126 was sold by Heritage Auctions for $1,020.00 in May 2021. The PCGS price guide listed the MS64 grade coin for $900.00.

May 2021 eBay saw an NGC MS63 graded example sell for $700.00 while valued at $650.00 and a PCGS MS62 grade sell for $510.00 which was valued at $450 in MS60 grade.

Concerning the most value for the collector professionally graded encapsulated coins can be found on eBay for less than current values. In fact, many ungraded and lower grade samples of the 1928 P Peace Dollar can be purchased for $325.00 or less in the Buy It Now offerings on eBay.