Peace Silver Dollars 1921
- 1935
Information
on the Peace
Dollars Series
The Peace Dollar
design was created
by Anthony de Francisci, who won a design competition sponsored by
the U.S. Mint in 1920. The design for the Peace Dollar had to
meet
certain criteria, including that the obverse depict the head of
Liberty, to be made "as beautiful and full of character as
possible." The reverse of the Peace
Dollar would depict an eagle,
as required by the Coinage Act of 1792, although the particulars of
the design were left to the discretion of the artist. The final
requirements were that the coin needed to bear the denomination, the
name of the country, "E pluribus unum," the motto "In God We
Trust," and the word Liberty.
De Francisci based his Liberty for the
Peace Dollar
on his wife, Teresa de Francisci. The radiate crown
that Liberty wears on the obverse of the Peace Dollar was
explicitly
designed to recall the Statue of Liberty. The eagle featured on the
reverse of the Peace
Dollar was the source of controversy when the
design was initially described to the public. The eagle on the
reverse originally held both an olive branch and a broken sword, both
of which were intended to symbolize peace. However, many people saw
negative connotations to the broken sword, and the Mint removed that
feature from the design of the Peace
Dollar, leaving the olive branch
to symbolize Peace.
The Peace Dollar
was minted from 1921
through 1928, and again in 1934 and 1935. The Peace Dollar was
the
last United States circulating dollar coin to be struck in Silver. All Peace Dollars had
a .900 (90%) silver and .100 (10%) copper
composition, with a diameter of 38.1mm and a mass of 26.73g.
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