1922 Peace Dollar : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..

1922 Low-Relief Peace Dollar

The year 1922 marked the first full-calendar production year for artist Anthony de Francisci’s Peace Dollar design. Premature die breakage on the High Relief strikings of 1921 caused the United States Mint to lower the relief on the 1922 issue. This not only lengthened the die life but also answered spurious complaints in the media regarding the inability of the new coin to “stack”. Mint Chief Engraver George T. Morgan carried out the alterations, whose dollar design was retired in favor of the new design.

According to research published by Roger W. Burdette, Morgan worked in January 1922 to address the fact that the high-relief design needed to be struck at exceedingly high pressure to bring up the details fully, causing shortened die life.

During the week of January 23, Morgan tried to get satisfactory results by reworking the obverse design. According to Burdette, Morgan accomplished this work by sanding down a plaster model and reapplying the finer details. Writer Don Taxay, in The U.S. Mint and Coinage (2nd Edition, 1983) suggested that Morgan lowered the relief by hammering down the surfaces of the electroplate with a flat board (p. 359)!

Unfortunately, Morgan’s results did not flatter the original design and after a limited run of 3,200 trial pieces, the dies failed. When sculptor James Earle Fraser was shown Morgan’s modifications, he was displeased and complained to the Chairman of the Commission on Fine Arts. From this point, Fraser would work with Mint Director Raymond T. Baker to resolve the issue.

On January 20, de Francisci and Morgan met to discuss the next steps. After the meeting, de Francisci agreed to make new models in lower relief, basing the revised models on the version of the design edited by Morgan in 1921 and struck for circulation. Morgan received the latest models on February 6 and went to work preparing new hubs and dies.

The next week, the Philadelphia Mint produced about 200,000 strikes with the new dies. These were sent to Washington and Fraser (with reservations) signaled to the Mint Director that the trial pieces should be released. Fraser specifically wanted to see improvements in the hair detail.

In March, Morgan made additional alterations to the design, but these changes are practically imperceptible.

Before settling on the production version of the 1922 Peace Dollar, the Mint produced Proofs in Matte and Satin finishes, test strikings in modified relief, and low-relief Proofs with Matte and Satin finishes. These coins are scarce to rare and appear at auction infrequently.

The low-relief business strikes, on the other hand, are common and frequently encountered in rolls, old accumulations, and modern coin collections. Collectors prefer examples in uncirculated condition, as they are plentiful.

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Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

In an ad in the August 1978 issue of The Numismatist, coin dealer George H. Ashley, Jr. of Capital City Coin Exchange in Richmond, Virginia, advertised GEM BU 1922 (Low-Relief) Peace Dollars for sale at $10 each.

The NGC population of MS67 grading events increased from 18 in January 2002 to 37 in November 2013. In the past year, it has jumped to 58 as of September 2024. The PCGS population of MS67 coins has increased from 48 to 56 since July 2023.

Top Population: PCGS MS67 (56, 8/2024). NGC MS67+ (1, 8/2024). CAC MS67 (17:2 stickered:graded, 8/2024).

• PCGS MS67 #37140192: DLRC, December 12, 2024, Lot 782311 – View. Scattered rust colored toning along the periphery.
• PCGS MS67 #50814738: DLRC, November 10, 2024, Lot 801765 – View. Thin band of reddish-brown toning at the top of the obverse.
• NGC MS67 #3167329-001: Stack’s Bowers, August 18, 2023, Lot 6466 – $2,880.
• PCGS MS67 CAC #31679871: “The Monterey Bay Collection,” Heritage Auctions, January 2021, Lot 4372 – $10,500; “The Jlionel51 #8 PCGS Peace Dollar Set”, Heritage Auctions, July 20, 2023, Lot 3147 – $21,600. Orange discoloration to the left of nose, between L and I of LIBERTY, below IN G of IN GOD. Contact marks on cheek and eyebrow. Dark spot above 1 of DATE. Orange discoloration on reverse, primarily around ONE and the eagle’s tail feathers. Die gouge in rays to the right of the olive branch.
• PCGS MS67 CAC #371939518: Heritage Auctions, February 24, 2022, Lot 3120 – $12,000. Brilliant. Die crack at the bottom of Liberty’s bun. Thin curved march through 1 in date. Thin mark on neck. IN weakly impressed.
• PCGS MS67 CAC #41415961: Heritage Auctions, August 20, 2021, Lot 3987 – $10,500. Brilliant. Thin mark above 1 on date. Thin die crack through bust truncation. Pale peach discoloration over IN.
• NGC MS67 #351854-011: Heritage Auctions, January 11, 2019, Lot 5387 – $2,160.
• PCGS MS67 #30761876: Heritage Auctions, April 28, 2017, Lot 4835 – $8,518.75. Larry Shapiro/ Ward T. Miller Jr. on insert. Brilliant with light green and orange splotchy toning near the rim at 3 o’clock on the reverse. Prominent hit in hair near the coin’s center.
• PCGS MS67 #18448394: “The DeMicco Family Collection,” Heritage Auctions, August 14, 2015, Lot 5849 – $11,162.50. MBJ on insert. Thin die crack above 9 on the neck. Another from the neck on the right to T in TRUST. Light tarnish.
• PCGS MS67 CAC #6558313: Heritage Auctions, January 10, 2014, Lot 6058 – $16,450. Mostly brilliant with light tarnish on the reverse. Die break from right edge of bust truncation through T in TRUST to below second lowest lock of Liberty’s hair. Mark on upper lip. Reflective mark on eyebrow. On reverse, discoloration above O in DOLLAR.
• NGC MS67: Stack’s Bowers, November 6, 2013, Lot 3333 – $3,525. Binion Hoard. Dipping residue on obverse.
• PCGS MS67 CAC #3284445: Heritage Auctions, August 2000, Lot 640; Heritage Auctions, January 2001, Lot 7686; Heritage Auctions, February 3, 2012, Lot 4369 – $9,775; “The Jim O’Neal Collection,” Heritage Auctions, April 26, 2013, Lot 5060 – $17,625. Brilliant. Die line across bust truncation. Thin scratch above first 2 of date. discoloration at top of G in GOD. Mark to the right of the tip of L.
• PCGS MS67 CAC #1603194: “The Paul Taylor Collection,” Heritage Auctions, April 28, 2011, Lot 5298 – $12,650. Die clash mark below OD in GOD. Light hit in Liberty’s hair above eye. On the reverse, three parallel horizontal marks on eagle’s tail feathers. Die break to the right of the olive branch.
• PCGS MS67 #8427092: “The Dr. Barry Southerland Collection,” Heritage Auctions, January 7, 2011, Lot 6226 – $8,625. Brilliant. Two dark copper spots in hair. Die crack through bust truncation. Thin discoloration streak through LI to crown.
• PCGS MS67 #06592571: “The Del Rio Collection, Part Two,” Heritage Auctions, August 20, 2004, Lot 7048 – $9,200 Jack Lee 2 on insert. Heritage Auctions, February 17, 2007, Lot 5839 – $8,625.
• NGC MS67 #151443-001: Heritage Auctions, September 16, 2006, Lot 5614 – $19,550. Brilliant. Dark mark to the right of L on LIBERTY. Rim hit below TR in TRUST. Die line between 1 and 9, extending across bust truncation.
• NGC MS67 #351455-059: “The Robert Moreno Registry Collection of Peace Dollars,” Heritage Auctions, April 7, 2006, Lot 1213 – $8,050. Binion Collection green-border insert.

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Coin Specifications

Additional References

Bowers, Q. David. The Experts Guide to Collecting & Investing in Rare Coins. Whitman Publishing.

–. A Guide Book of United States Type Coins. Whitman Publishing.

Burdette, Roger W. “De Francisci steps up as Morgan fails again on Peace dollar”, Coin World. March 9, 2009. 82-86.

Breen, Walter. Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins. Doubleday.

Guth, Ron, and Jeff Garrett. United States Coinage: A Study by Type. Whitman Publishing.

Taxay, Don. The U.S. Mint and Coinage (2nd Ed.). Arco Publishing. 1983.

Yeoman, R.S., and Jeff Garrett (editor). The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins. Whitman Publishing.

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