Peace dollar

The Peace dollar is a United States dollar coin minted for circulation from 1921 to 1928 and 1934 to 1935, and beginning again for collectors in 2021. Designed by Anthony de Francisci, the coin was the result of a competition to find designs emblematic of peace. Its obverse represents the head and neck of the Goddess of Liberty in profile, and the reverse depicts a bald eagle at rest clutching an olive branch, with the legend "Peace". It was the last circulating United States dollar coin to be struck in 90% silver.

With the passage of the Pittman Act in 1918, the United States Mint was required to strike millions of silver dollars and began in 1921, using the Morgan design. Many Numismatists considered the Morgan dollar design outmoded and began to lobby the Mint to issue a coin that commemorated the peace following the end of World War I; 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 the announced design, which included a broken sword, symbolized defeat and the Mint quickly removed the sword. On December 28, 1921, the first Peace dollars were struck; just over a million coins were minted bearing the date 1921. When the Pittman Act requirements were met by 1928, the mint ceased production of the coins, but further legislation resulted in more Peace dollars being struck during 1934 and 1935. In early 1965, amid much controversy, the Denver mint struck over 316,000 Peace dollars dated 1964, but these were never issued, and all are believed to have been destroyed.

In 2021, the U.S. Mint struck a special 2021 issue Peace Dollar to celebrate the design’s 100th anniversary, with production of the coins to continue annually from 2023 onwards.