Object ID	2005.0121.001
Accession#	2005.0011
Object Name	Coin
Title	Peace Dollar
Description	One 1922 and two 1923 silver "Peace Dollars." Peace dollars in this era were minted to commemorate the end of World War I against Imperial Germany. For a brief history of these Peace Dollars, see notes.
Date	1922
Search Terms	Peace Dollars Coins Money
Collection	Robert L. Hunker Private Collection
People	Hunker, Robert L. Morgan, George
Subjects	Coins Money Silver
Artist	George Morgan
Catalog date	07/08/2005
Catalog type	History
Collector	Robert L. Hunker Historic Preservation Foundation
Count	3
Dimensions	H-0.125 Dia-1.5 inches
Home Location	6138 Riverview Road
Made	United States
Material	Silver
Notes	From http://www.coin-gallery.com/cgmarotta2.htm: Americans are contrary by nature. So, it is typical that public reaction to new coinage is guarded. The Peace Dollar was not well-received. Yet, the Peace Dollar remains popular with collectors because it is attractive as wellas being both available and affordable in high grade. DEMANDED AND DISLIKED Frank G. Duffield, editor of The Numismatist, prepared a paper for the 1918 Philadelphia convention of the ANA, calling for a general circulation coin to commemorate America's inevitable victory in the World War. By the middle of 1918, the end of the war seemed near. All of the European belligerents were exhausted. Germany was on the edge of internal chaos. Russia had already collapsed and withdrawn from the war. The ANA convention was not held that summer because of an influenza epidemic that broke out, taking 100,000 lives along the East Coast and tens of millions worldwide. Duffield's suggestion appeared in the November, 1918, issue of The Numismatist. He wrote: "An event of international interest, and one worthy to be commemorated by a United States coin issue, is scheduled to take place in the near future. The date has not yet been determined, but it will be when the twentieth century vandals have been beaten to their knees and been compelled to accept the terms of the Allies... It should be issued in such quantities that it will never become rare, and it should circulate at face value." On August 25, 1920, at the ANA convention in Chicago, Waldo C. Moore, President, called on Moritz Wormser, Chairman of the Board, to read a paper from Farran Zerbe of California. Zerbe's proposal asked for a general circulation commemorative coin. The object of the coin was to be America's influence for peace. Zerbe's letter said: "Our example as a democracy... was a mighty moral force that won battles without number in the hearts and in the minds of those who ultimately proved that they had the power to topple thrones..." Zerbe reminded the convention that "liberty and rule by will of the majority gave equal opportunity for energy and thrift, time and talent, bringing contentment, prosperity and honor as merited." Farran Zerbe's proposal also included a call for a popular competition. He asked for either a half dollar or a dollar, to allow the maximum field for the artist. Zerbe's intent was clearly an allegorical or symbolic design. This later proved to be a point of contention when the coin finally came out. The paper was received and referred to the committee on resolutions -- but not before board member S. Hudson Chapman objected on the grounds that the U.S. was still technically at war with Germany. He called a unilateral declaration of peace "the most stupid thing I have ever heard of" and "a most ridiculous situation". The February, 1921, Numismatist declared that "the outlook at this time for the issue by the United States Government of a Victory or Peace coin for general circulation is quite promising." This was because the Pittman Act authorized the replacement and recoining of silver that had been melted and loaned to England in order to shore up her eroding hold on India. On May 9, 1921, Rep. Albert H. Vestal, chairman of the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures, introduced a joint resolution calling for a "Peace Dollar." The resolution specified that "all standard silver dollars ... shall be of an appropriate design commemorative of the termination of the war between the Imperial German Government and the Government of the United States." The house bill of this resolution was then referred to his committee. However, it was not clear to the ANA that any new commemorative would actually be used for general circulation. Letters between ANA officers, the Philadelphia Mint, and the Treasury in Washington indicated two alternatives: either the new coin would be used only in inter-bank transfers for the redemption of silver certificates, with no consideration to mark it as being different from the old cartwheels; or, the new coin would be sold as a commemorative, at a premium of 50% to 100%. Neither alternative pleased the ANA and, in June of 1921, the Numismatist asked members to see their Congressmen personally, (or write), urging support for a general circulation coin commemorating the new peace. Zerbe's original proposal that the designer come from outside the Mint also hit a snag. The Congressional resolution of May 9 said nothing about a design competition. Since an open competition would involve $10,000 in costs, that part of the proposal had been dropped. The work of design would have fallen to George T. Morgan. Nonetheless, a contest was held. On November 23, 1921, the federal Commission of Fine Arts announced a design competition for the new coin. They invited nine sculptors. Among them were Chester Beach, Anthony De Francisci, John Flanagan, Hermon A. MacNeil, and Adolph A . Weinman. (The others were Robert Aitkin, Henry Hering, and Robert Tait McKenzie.) Aitkin had just created the Missouri Centennial commemorative of 1921 and De Francisci's Maine Centennial came out in 1920. In two weeks, these artists did what De Francisci later said should have taken three months. On December 19, the choice was made known to Congress. And the design was rejected! De Francisci's reverse showed the Eagle holding (some say standing on) a broken sword. This was seen as a symbol of defeat. As a result, George Morgan quickly designed a new reverse, the one we see today. The first Peace Dollar was presented to President Warren G. Harding on January 3, 1922. The Numismatist for February included several thousand words of criticism. Harsh words of disappointment and thin consolation came from Anthony de Francisci, Farran Zerbe, and Judson Brenner (chairman of the ANA Peace Coin Committee), and ANA president, Moritz Wormser. Among the faults was the fact that the coin was not symbolic or allegorical. The sunrise could be interpreted as heralding a new day of peace, and, of course, there was the word itself carved on a rock. The olive branch adorns most American money. It is likely that the ANA was hoping for something more like the Panama- Pacific issues. Howland Wood of the American Numismatic Society pointed out that "whenever a new coin issue makes its appearance, the press of the country takes special delight in criticising minor details in the design..." He called the coin "good" and "bold." Then he offered his own "favorable criticism" of the lettering. Complaints about the design went along with confusion over its purpose. Several newspapers in late 1921 and early 1922 shared the belief that the coin commemorated the much-touted Conference on the Limitation of Armaments in Washington D.C. In a letter running in the March 1922 Numismatist, H. E. Buck of Delaware, Ohio, asked: "The nameless rays over the head represent what? Maybe captured German bayonets, or the eagle head war bonnet of an Indian, so badly moth eaten that only the quill of the feathers remain. The lady looks as if she had catarrh and had to breath through her mouth and was badly frightened. How does one pronounce 'trvst'?" The truth of the matter is that De Francisci's Liberty was a direct descendent of two patterns created by Augustus Saint Gaudens in 1907 and 1908. The $10 Gold Eagle issued from 1907 to 1933 has nearly the same profile as the Peace Dollar. In the pattern from 1907 for a one-cent piece, Miss Liberty's hair is gathered at the top of her head and she wears a laurel wreath. In both the $10 issue and the 1-cent pattern, Liberty's lips are slightly parted. These Liberties were clearly precursors to De Francisci's. In any case, mounting criticism caused the Director of the Mint to issue a statement on February 9, 1922, that the Peace dollars would not be withdrawn from circulation. In the summer of 1924, the Treasury placed Peace Dollars in the pay envelopes of 5,000 employees and suggested the action to other government agencies. The years 1922 through 1925 saw peak production. Volumes dropped from over 80 million in 1923 to just under 12 million in 1925. Then, production ran about 3 million coins a year until 1935. In 1928, Philadelphia struck only 360,649. Remember that the reason for the coin was two-fold, and commemorating Peace was secondary. The US Treasury needed to replace 270 million silver dollars. >From 1921, counting the last Morgans, through 1925, the total mintage was 250 million. Basically, the tangible goals of the government were met, regardless of the artistic or numismatic merit of the circulating silver. DE FRANCISCI: SCULPTOR AND MEDALIST If you look in almost any authorative text on American sculpture, you will find the names of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Hermon A. MacNeil, Adolph A. Weinman, and the others known so well to numismatists. By comparison, Anthony de Francisci was not well-known in his time and except for this coin -- and perhaps the Maine Centennial commemorative -- he remains a low profile in ours. Anthony de Francisci (pronounced "franchee-shee") was born on July 13, 1887 in Italy. He came to the United States in 1903 and was naturalized in 1913. He studied at Cooper Union and James Earle Fraser was his teacher at the Art Students' League. Later, he worked as an assistant to several sculptors, including Hermon A. MacNeil and A. A. Weinman. In 1915, Columbia University hired him as an instructor. He opened his own studio in 1917. De Francisci created the Maine Centennial half dollar in 1920 and the obverse of the Peace Dollar in 1921. His other numismatic works were medals, mostly for the US military. Among them were the Reserve Officers Training Corps, the Naval Defense Button, and the Badge of Service. The Badge of Service was a gold-plated brass emblem, the result of General Orders No. 13, June 2, 1925. Any veteran with an honorable discharge could wear the Badge of Service. In 1943, the design was modified slightly and the general orders allowed it to be worn by any veteran of World War II. To millions of men and women, it was known as "The Ruptured Duck", the same name given to Capt. Ted Lawson's B-25 bomber. The cause of this coincidence is not known. This same design also served as the lapel decoration for the World War II Victory Medal. De Francisci created the Congressional medal awarded to Gen. John J. Pershing, commander of the American forces in World War I. The American Institute of Mining Engineers commissioned the sculptor for the medal they awarded to Herbert Hoover, who began his professional life as an engineer. In 1944, De Francisci assisted Max Kalish in creating a series of sculptures of the Roosevelt Cabinet. The National Museum of American Art in Virginia has a dozen of his works on display. Several more can be found at Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina. De Francisci's most public sculpture is the Independence Flagstaff at Union Square in New York City. De Francisci's design shows allegorical figures of Good and Evil during the struggle for independence. GRADING THE PEACE DOLLAR Only the 1921-P was produced as the sculptor intended, with full, deep relief. The first issues were struck twice to bring up the details. This was considered unacceptable. From 1922 on, the mints reduced the pressure of the single strike. George Morgan made several modifications to the design, flattening it. According to the Breen Encyclopedia, he even went to far as to hammer the electrotype flat with a board. With the relief lowered and the lettering thinned, the broad, shallow field of the obverse shows every bagmark and nick. These coins saw so little use that there is not much demand for them below About Uncirculated. When you are paying for an Uncirculated specimen, knowing the details of AU helps you to avoid buying a slider. The high points on Liberty are: the cheek the hair above the eye the hair at the forehead, above the center of the eye the hair above the ear. most forward curl of hair behind the cheek Also, look for wear in the area above the ear bounded by a line from the T to the WE and from the R to the 2. For the reverse, the feathers at the top and outside edge of the Eagle's right wing, above the P and E will wear first. Look, also, at the top of the Eagle's head and the neck. When the relief was lowered, no allowance was made for those elements that were already shallow by design. Therefore, from 1922 through 1928, the rays can be weak, with details blending into the fields, especially in circulated specimens. For the collector who seeks only the best mint state examples, the Peace Dollar offers a serious challenge. Only the 1922-P, 1923-P, and 1925-P have high populations in MS-65. The 1921-P, 1924-S, 1934-D, and 1934-S are difficult to find in this grade. Locating a gem uncirculated 1923-S, 1925-S, 1927-D, or 1928-S, is nearly impossible. Be forewarned that even mint state coins can have indistinct rims and fade-away lettering. Liberty's hair may have broad flat areas where contours are supposed to be. "Orange peel" surfaces are also too easy to find, since the Mint ran the series with dies that were worn past their prime.
Owned	Robert L. Hunker Historic Preservation Foundation
Recfrom	Hunker Associates Inc.