In 1918 the silver interests in the United
States were so strong that the favorable Pittman Act was
passed. It required that 270,232,722 silver dollars be converted
into bullion for sale to Great Britain. Between 1920 and
1933 the same quantity of silver was to be purchased from
American mines and coined into new silver dollars, and 270,232,722
new dollars were to be made from this silver. As a result
of this act, in 1921 86,730,000 new Morgan dollars were
made.
At the American Numismatic Association convention
in Chicago in 1921, Farran Zerbe, founder of the Chase Manhattan
Money Museum and historian for the ANA, made a proposal
that the half dollar or dollar should be a circulating commemorative
coin celebrating peace. The "War to End All Wars"
(World War I) was over ending with the Treaty of Versailles.
The commemorative proposal met with such enthusiasm that
a bill was prepared in the House of Representatives to be
passed by unanimous consent; however, a single objection
prevented it from being placed on the calendar. Later the
Peace dollar design was adopted without Congressional approval
because the earlier design, the Morgan dollar, had been
in use for more than its twenty-five year minimum. Except
in the casinos of Nevada, most Peace dollars saw little
circulation. In other states, Peace dollars stayed in bank
vaults being part of the cash reserves that banks were required
to maintain.
Anthony de Francisci's design, which was
supposed to recall the Statue of Liberty, shows Liberty
wearing a “radiate” crown reminiscent of an
earlier Roman coin. Across the front of her head is a loose
braid that continues around her head and falls with her
other wind-blown hair. The hair at the back of her head
is held with a loose knot. Her neck, which is truncated,
separates the motto IN GOD and WE TRUST. (De Francisci used
the Roman style of lettering on the motto with the U written
as V, causing some confusion. He did not use Roman lettering
on the reverse.) His lovely twenty-three year old wife Teresa
was the model.
Zerbe found the eagle on the reverse to
be, “majestic, intelligent and protective.…”
It is a realistic portrayal with its head alert and wings
folded as it faces the symbolic rays of the sun at the lower
right. It stands on a rocky cliff with an olive branch next
to it. The denomination is written in a straight line, interrupted
by the eagle’s body. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and
E PLURIBUS UNUM are in two circular arcs at the top of the
coin. Mintmarks are found close to the tip of the wing.
The word PEACE is written at the bottom of the cliff on
which the eagle is perched, hence the name of the design.
The reverse was to be emblematic of the
crimes against humanity (France, Belgium, and Serbia) that
Germany and its allies perpetrated. Later it was to have
been a Victory dollar, similar to the Victory postage stamp
that was issued in 1919. It is interesting to note that
the original reverse design had the eagle breaking a sword
on which it was perched. However, some feared criticism
that the symbolism would be interpreted as defeat rather
than peace so the design was changed, and an olive branch
was substituted for the sword.Peace dollars of 1921 were
struck in high relief; consequently, they are weak in the
center. Coins of this date usually lack hair detail on the
obverse and feather detail on the reverse. While there are
no fundamental rarities in the series, aside from the one
known 1922 High Relief piece, there are a number of condition
rarities, which retail for over $10,000 in MS65. These include
1924-S, 1925-S, 1927-S, 1928-S, and 1934-S. Proof Peace
dollars were made in 1921 and 1922. They are all rare, with
mintages between 3 and 20.
One of the legendary vanished rarities occurred
in 1965. The Act of 1964 authorized the mintage of 45 million
Peace dollars. Because it was felt that this issue would
mainly benefit the Nevada gambling casino interests, public
pressure was brought about to stop this mintage, and 316,076
dollars dated 1964-D were recalled and melted. Also in 1965
United States combat units were deployed in Vietnam, making
the coining of a Peace Dollar somewhat illogical. However,
Mint employees had each been allowed to purchase two of
these new coins, and no records were kept as to how many
were sold or returned. It is quite possible that a few specimens
survive.
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