I have a 1922 Peace dollar, I have been reading about the High Relief and Low Relief and I got confused. Please explan the differnce between the Two. Here is some links I have been reading about the coin. http://www.coinfacts.com/silver_dollars/peace_dollars/1922_peace_dollar.htm http://www.coinworld.com/news/082701/news-1.asp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-relief http://www.cubannumismaticassociation.com/CNANL-02/HighRelief.html Now is is my 1922 Peace Dollar. I know it is not top of the line. Many issures with it. I have taken photos of it in the sun outdoors, In different lights in the house. I think the coin is a Low Relief and there is some Machine doubling and what else. Thank you for your help in understanding this. Cheryl I used a number 10 loupe for some of the photos.
Easiest way for you to understand it would be for you to compare a '21 Peace and a '22 Peace side by side. You'll see the difference immediately.
Appalachian Mountains = Low Relief Rocky Mountains = High Relief The Rocky Mountains stand higher above the Earth's surface than the Appalachian Mountains. Hope this makes sense.
The differance is the height that the design elements stick out from the surface. a simply explaination here are two different coins the first one is high relief , the second coin is low relief See how the detail sticks out on the high relief coin in comparison to the low relief coin.This all has to do with the strike I would say by looking at your pics it does appear to be a low relief coin you have. Jazzcoins joe
High relief 1922 Peace Dollars were only struck in Matte Proof and there are between 10-20 known to survive. All of the circulating 1922 high relief Peace Dollars are believed to be destroyed, all 35,401 of them.
Interesting, I didn't know they were circulated. I thought they were sold to collectors. You learn something new everyday. BTW why do they believe they were destroyed, the coins never make it into circulation by the general public? Did they just get sent to the Fed. reserve banks and than get recalled and melted?
I'm really not sure Tater, I was just giving a brief description of what I read in the article that I pasted along with my post. Interesting questions though.
Thanks Doug, I didnt know there was only one. No wonder they're so hard to find. I bet there's one heck of a bidding war when it hits the block.
No problem, just trying to learn a bit more about the series. Its not like I'll be able to ever afford one.
I have read quite a bit about this series but not much about this particular coin, not in great detail anyway. Maybe because of the same reason you said, I'll never afford it either. Last sale I believe: NGC Matte Proof 65 Goldbergs Jan. 2004, the coin sold for $86,250.00. A little too much for me right now. Maybe after I win the PA lottery..lol
Easiest way to tell if you have a 22 high relief if you don't have a 21 handy for comparison purposes is to look for certain die characteristics. On the obv look at the spike just to the right of the E in LIBERTY. On the high relief it comes to just about the top edge of the bottom leg of the E. On the low relief it extends higher to the level of the middle bar of the E. (See the pictures in Jazz's post and the first picture in the original post. On the reverse look at the spike that pierces the right vertical of the N in ONE. On the high relief it continues ending almost above the center of the O. On the low relief it does not extend past the left vertical of the N. (Once again see the pictures in Jazz's post and the third picture in the original post.) There is also a diference where the point of the bust pierces the 9 but it is more subtle. Those other two features will allow you to identify a 22 high relief at arms length with no comparison coin needed.
It's not that they were supposed to be melted, it's that they were supposedly melted. Big difference in the two words.
I actually had the same question about the 1922 peace dollar . You guys are very specific and helpful. Much to my disappointment, I am afraid to say I do not posess a 1922 High Relief peace dollar. The pictures along with the description from Conder101 really helped. EDITED Thank you!