diff --git a/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.c b/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.c
index 796a0aa71685b96d567f5ae5c16cb30ca8d1bd9d..17a3050c30a62741ff24e4f84da3501f516426ae 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.c
+++ b/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.c
@@ -3268,15 +3268,22 @@ _printTocEntry(ArchiveHandle *AH, TocEntry *te, bool isData, bool acl_pass)
 
 	/*
 	 * Avoid dumping the public schema, as it will already be created ...
-	 * unless we are using --clean mode, in which case it's been deleted and
-	 * we'd better recreate it.  Likewise for its comment, if any.
+	 * unless we are using --clean mode (and *not* --create mode), in which
+	 * case we've previously issued a DROP for it so we'd better recreate it.
+	 *
+	 * Likewise for its comment, if any.  (We could try issuing the COMMENT
+	 * command anyway; but it'd fail if the restore is done as non-super-user,
+	 * so let's not.)
+	 *
+	 * XXX it looks pretty ugly to hard-wire the public schema like this, but
+	 * it sits in a sort of no-mans-land between being a system object and a
+	 * user object, so it really is special in a way.
 	 */
-	if (!ropt->dropSchema)
+	if (!(ropt->dropSchema && !ropt->createDB))
 	{
 		if (strcmp(te->desc, "SCHEMA") == 0 &&
 			strcmp(te->tag, "public") == 0)
 			return;
-		/* The comment restore would require super-user privs, so avoid it. */
 		if (strcmp(te->desc, "COMMENT") == 0 &&
 			strcmp(te->tag, "SCHEMA public") == 0)
 			return;