Circulated American Silver Peace Dollar (Dates/Types Vary)
| Minted to celebrate the victory of America and her allies in World War I, the Peace Dollar was also a response to a practical concern: the nation was short on silver dollars. During WWI, Germany spread rumors that the British government had insufficient silver to back up its printed currency. These rumors, plus hoarding of silver, caused an increase in silver prices, threatening the British war effort. Britain then turned to the U.S. to purchase silver, hoping to decrease prices by increasing Britain’s supply. The U.S. melted over 250,000,000 coins to meet this need, including many Morgan Dollars. The U.S. Treasury was required to replace the melted-down coins using silver bought from American mining companies. In 1921, the Philadelphia Mint resumed production of the Morgan Dollar. In the meantime, the American Numismatic Association (ANA) had proposed to Congress the production of a Peace Coin. A competition was held for the Peace Coin design, and a young, relatively unknown designer named Anthony de Francisci beat out several more established designers, including Adolph Weinman. Francisci used his wife, Teresa, as the model for Liberty. Teresa had first seen the Statue of Liberty from a steamer as she and her family arrived in New York as immigrants from Italy. As a child, she’d always wanted to play Liberty in school plays — and now she had her role. The obverse of the Peace Dollar features a youthful, modern Liberty in profile, her hair flowing back in the wind. On her head, Liberty bears a radiate crown symbolizing the sun. The words LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, and the mint year also appear. The reverse shows a bald eagle on a mountaintop. He clasps an olive branch, while the sun’s rays radiate behind him. Above him appear the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and E PLURIBUS UNUM, towards the middle of the coin the words ONE DOLLAR, and below the eagle is the word PEACE. The Peace Dollar had one of the briefest mintage periods in U.S. history: 1921-1928 and 1934–1935. It was also the last silver dollar ever produced before production of silver currency ceased in 1965. This coin would make an excellent addition to a collection of silver dollars. |
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