In 1964 the country was running out of silver coins, and Congress, in a last gesture to the silver dollar, authorized a new run. In May 1965 the Denver Mint struck 316,076 Peace dollars bearing a 1964 date. Then Washington thought better of it. The authorization was rescinded, and every coin was ordered melted before a single one was issued.
Officially, that was that: the government's position is that all 316,076 were destroyed inside the Denver Mint, and that any coin that somehow escaped was never lawfully issued and remains government property, the same doctrine that governs the 1933 double eagle. Rumors that a few walked out the door have circulated for sixty years. No example has ever surfaced publicly.
So the 1964-D occupies a category of one: a coin with a precise mintage and zero lawful survivors. The pieces you will actually encounter with this date are modern fantasy strikes and replicas, some sold honestly as such, some not.
The last silver dollar the United States ever struck for circulation is a coin nobody can own. That is either the saddest or the most perfect ending to the series, depending on your mood. Either way: there is nothing to buy here, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling you a story with a coin-shaped object attached.
| Issue | Mint | Mintage |
|---|---|---|
| 1964-D Peace Dollar | Denver | 316,076 † |
† struck but never issued; the entire mintage is recorded as melted.
Mintage figures: United States Mint, Annual Report of the Director of the Mint, cross-checked across independent published references. Specifications: United States Mint coin specifications.