Peace Dollars

Even though Francisci was the coin’s designer, the Mint’s chief engraver, George Morgan, exerted his influence by tweaking the sculptor’s design. Francisci had wanted the eagle on the coin’s reverse to be standing on a broken arrow, but Morgan thought that went against the spirit of the coin, so he replaced the arrow with an olive branch.

Like Morgans, Peace dollars get the VAM treatment, although instead of having their variations identified by Leroy C. Van Allen and A. George Mallis, Peace VAMs have been compiled by Jeff Oxman and Dr. David Close. Famous VAMs include the die break in a 1922 Philadelphia Peace dollar that looks like Lady Liberty is wearing an earring. In a similar vein, a die break from the same mint in the same year gives the impression that Francisci’s wife had a mustache.

Production of Peace dollars ceased in 1928 when demand for the coins slacked. Less than 10 million more were struck in 1934 and 1935, and those were only minted because the government needed silver coins to back its Silver Certificates.

The coin almost returned to circulation in 1965, when more than 300,000 silver Peace dollars were struck. The Denver-minted coins were dated 1964 to comply with the Coinage Act of 1965 (it reduced the silver content of all coins except Kennedy half dollars), but in the end, the coins were melted down—to own one is illegal, so if a few escaped the furnace, they would not be likely to come up for auction. Thus, the Peace dollars of 1935 were the last silver dollars produced by the U.S. government.

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