On May 9, 1921, the same day that the Morgan dollar reentered production after a 16-year hiatus, Republican Congressman Albert Henry Vestal (IN8) introduced legislation proposing a silver dollar coin redesign.
The kernel of the idea to update the dollar coin design to commemorate peace came from coin promoter Farran Zerbe, who, in October 1920, had written a column for The Numismatist entitled “Commemorate the Peace with a Coin for Circulation”. Zerbe was piggybacking off of the idea of another hobbyist, Frank Duffield, who had called for the production of a circulating coin commemorating peace in the November 1918 issue of the same magazine. Zerbe’s plan was, however, more specific, and given Zerbe’s penchant for promotion and government connections, his lobbying held more sway.
Vestal was never able to carry the bill to passage, but his position as chairman of the House Committee on Coinage gave him the latitude to move forward with a plan to change out the design of the silver dollar with a new one promoting peace. Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon and Mint Director Raymond Baker endorsed the idea and a design competition was held for three weeks starting on November 23.
A virtual who’s who of American sculptors submitted designs for the Peace dollar. Anthony di Francisci, a New York-based sculptor who had designed the Maine commemorative half dollar a year before, beat out Robert Aitken, Chester Beach, Victor David Brenner, John Flanagan, Robert Tait McKenzie, and Adolph Weinman. President Warren G. Harding chose Francisci’s design over the other finalists on December 19. Dies were prepared by the 24th, with coin production beginning on December 26 and running through the end of the year. In total, 1,006,473 Peace dollars were struck in 1921, and on January 3, 1922, the new design was released into circulation, with President Harding receiving the first coin.
After the initial rush to produce coins based on the new design had passed, United States Mint Chief Engraver George T. Morgan made a series of adjustments to the design to improve the life of the dies. A small number of High Relief 1922 Peace dollars were produced, but the majority of the coins issued in the series’ first full year of production were struck with modified lower-relief hubs. This design change, coupled with the 1921 issue’s low mintage, rightly draws enthusiasm from collectors and is considered a TYPE coin. The lower-relief issues of 1922-1935 represent the second TYPE of the series.
