Peace dollar
| United States | |
| Value | 1 United States dollar |
|---|---|
| Mass | 26.73 g (412.5 gr) |
| Diameter | 38.1 mm (1.5 in) |
| Edge | reeded |
| Composition | |
| Silver | 0.77344 troy oz |
| Years of minting | 1921–1928; 1934–1935 |
| Mint marks | D, S. Located above tip of eagle's wings on reverse. Philadelphia Mint specimens lack mint mark. |
| Obverse | |
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| Design | Liberty |
| Designer | Anthony de Francisci |
| Design date | 1921 |
| Reverse | |
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| Design | A perched bald eagle |
| Designer | Anthony de Francisci |
| Design date | 1921 |
The Peace dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1921 to 1928, and again in 1934 and 1935. Designed by Anthony de Francisci, the coin was the result of a competition to find designs emblematic of peace. Its obverse represents the head and neck of the Goddess of Liberty in profile, and the reverse depicts a bald eagle at rest clutching an olive branch, with the legend "Peace". It was the last United States dollar coin to be struck for circulation in silver.
With the passage of the Pittman Act in 1918, the United States Mint was required to strike millions of silver dollars, and began to do so in 1921, using the Morgan dollar design. Numismatists began to lobby the Mint to issue a coin that memorialized the peace following World War I; although they failed to get Congress to pass a bill requiring the redesign, they were able to persuade government officials to take action. The Peace dollar was approved by Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon in December 1921, completing the redesign of United States coinage that had begun in 1907.
The public believed the announced design, which included a broken sword, was illustrative of defeat, and the Mint hastily acted to remove the sword. The Peace dollar was first struck on December 28, 1921; just over a million were coined bearing a 1921 date. When the Pittman Act requirements were met in 1928, the mint ceased production of the coins, but more were struck during 1934 and 1935 as a result of further legislation. In 1965, the Denver mint struck over 300,000 Peace dollars dated 1964, but these were never issued, and all are believed to have been melted.
The Bland–Allison Act, passed by Congress on February 28, 1878, required the Treasury to purchase a minimum of $2 million in domestically mined silver per month and coin it into silver dollars. The Mint used a new design by engraver George T. Morgan, and struck what became known as the Morgan dollar. Many of the pieces quickly vanished into bank vaults for use as backing for paper currency redeemable in silver coin, known as silver certificates. In 1890, the purchases required under the Bland–Allison Act were greatly increased under the terms of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. Although the Sherman Act was repealed in 1893, it was not until 1904 that the government struck the last of the purchased silver into dollars. Once it did, production of the coin ceased.
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