Do you know Peace Dollars were struck by the mint without authorization? Congress wanted the 1921 P, D, and S Morgan Dollars to be the last silver dollars struck. The director of the Philidelphia mint used the terms of the Pittman Act to strike a commemerative coin. That coin was to be a half dollar or dollar. They employed a medallist to come up with a design. Anthony De Francisci designed the Peace Dollar. His design was in "High Relief", okayed and 1,006,473 "High Relief 1921 Peace Dollars were struck in December 1921,but were not released to the banks and the public as legal tender until January 3, 1922. The mint struck some 1921 proof Peace Dollars with a matte finish. 35,401 "HIgh Relief" 1922 Peace Dollars were struck, but the "High Relief" design proved impractical for a circulating coin, so the coin dies underwent a slight modification and most of the "High Relief" 1922 dollars were melted. No other Peace Dollar was struck in "High Relief". However there are normal relief and high relief 1922 proof dollars. Both types were struck with a matte or satin finish. Some S mint Peace Dollars have small and large mintmarks. Somehow the coin dies were modified in 1935 at the San Francisco Mint and two types of the 1935-S Peace Dollar exist. Type 1 has 4 rays under ONE on the reverse and Type 2 has 3 rays under ONE. Both types sell for the same amount at this time. Hope this enhances your numismatic knowledge, Clinker
There is but ONE of those high relief 1922 peace dollars ( business strikes, not a Proof ) that has ever surfaced and been authenticated - Click Here
I did not know that, quite interesting. I've always found the peace design to be one of my least favorite
Why do you all keep doing this to me? Why? You are all going to make me start a Peace Dollar collection, aren't you? I'm getting over this Walking Liberty "problem", my IHC "problem", my Seated Liberty "infatuation," and today I had to buy an 1880-S PCGS MS-62 Morgan Dollar with the NICEST reverse ever. You are all BAD influences.
I just got my first Peace Dollar today. 1922-D What is the difference between normal and high relief? This is the very one BTW. only $13...which I think (hope) is good.
Just go for the "poor man's " set.One of each date and at least one of every mintmark.It's fairly cheap except for the 1921 which could set you back a bit.
With normal relief, the rim is as high as any design element, and the coins can be stacked easily. High relief means that the dies are deeper, and the design elements stand out further from the background. Usually this means the center of the coin is thicker than the rim edge, and stacking is difficult.
Did you know this about the Peace Dollar ? Who designed the Peace Dollar ? Well if your a normal chap Im sure you would say Anthony De Francisci. Unfortunatly you would only be about half way correct. De Francisci's wife , Teresa Cafarelli, served as the artist's model for the goddess of Liberty. To displel any possible critcism, De Francisci told a newspaper columnist that the bust was "not a photograph of Mrs. De Francisci but was a composite face that typified something of America" A radiant headband accentuates the head & creates an image similar to the Statue of Liberty. The date , motto , & word Liberty are well spaced to balance the design & help produce the image of a young, eager personification of Freedom facing a new era of peace. For the reverse of the coin, De Francisci modeled an eagle with its head downward clutching a broken sword. Somecritics interperated this as a symbolic referance to the Washington Disarmament Conference . Yeilding to unfavorable publicty , treasury officials ordered Cheif Engraver George T. Morgan to prepare a new reverse showing the eagle with folded wings & with out a sword , Or the version we have always known. So there you have it ,good ole George Morgan was the designer of the reverse of the Peace Dollar. I hope this wasn't something you already knew because its always good to learn something new every day ! Cheers Guy & Gals- Bud
I used to think the same way, but I bought a couple and realized it's a great coin to collect, and it's finally becomming old enough to make it historically interesting too. I have an unscientific observation that I can't prove, but here it is. For reasons I can't explain, peace dollars seem more prone to ugly toning than morgan dollars. At least I see more of it in the places I look.
Tell him it was a toss-up between the coin and a tatoo, so you went with the coin. Maybe that will make him feel better.
Grade my Peace dollar while you lot are around pease Can you tell from the pic if it is high or normal relief? I don't care either way to be honest.
That's a pretty nice looking coin (at least from the back). I'm no expert by a long shot, but it looks like it's at least a MS-60 and possibly better. It's hard to tell from a picture. My understanding is that the high relief 1922 Peace Dollars have 4 rays below "ONE" on the reverse and normal relief have three.
Hey Eddyk You will need to post photos of both sides of the coin before we can grade it... As for the chance of it being a high relief---its one in a million if not more. Speedy
Right...here is the other side. Shame about the 2 'dings' in the rim... And you are right about the rays...meaning mine is a normal relief.