Peace Dollar
The Peace Dollar was minted to honor the signing of the peace treaty between the United States and Germany at the end of World War I. Today, Peace Dollars are popular as collectible coins, representing the last of the US silver dollars to be composed of 90 percent silver. A complete Peace Dollar set consists of just 24 date and mint combinations
What is Peace Dollar?
The Peace Dollar is a United States dollar coin. The coin was first minted from 1921 to 1928, and then again in 1934 and 1935. The design of the coin was made by designed by Anthony de Francisci, who used his wife Teresa as a model for the figure of Liberty on the coin’s obverse. The reverse of the coin shows an eagle on a rock, bathed in upward rays of light. The motto “Peace “appears at the bottom of the coin, superimposed on the rock. The Mint Mark appears underneath the word “ONE”. At the top of the coin along the rim lie the words “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”. It was the last United States circulating dollar coin to be struck 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 evoked peace; 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 that the announced design, including 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 to strike the coins, but more were struck in 1934 and 1935 as a result of other legislation. In 1965, the Mint struck over 300,000 Peace dollars bearing a 1964 date; these were never issued and are believed to have been melted.
Peace Dollar Composition
The Peace Dollar is composed of 90% silver and 10% copper, and weighs 26.73 grams.
On August 29, 2011 $31.3171964302 is the total melt value for the 1921-1935 silver Peace Dollar.
