1922 Peace Dollar in circulated condition showing signs of normal wear
- Designed by Anthony de Francisci, who was only 34 years old at the time
- Put into circulation on January 3, 1922
- Composed of 90% silver and 10% copper, weighing 26.73 grams
- Considered by coin historians to be one of the most popular U.S. coins (although it was never very popular with the public)
- Intended to commemorate the peace after World War I (“the war to end all wars”) as leaders from major world nations participated in disarmament talks
- Production stopped after 1928 and resumed briefly in 1934 and 1935
- Scheduled to be re-minted in 1964, but all coins struck that year were melted down, and the 1964 Peace Dollar never went into circulation
- The Peace Dollar design was intended to capture the “intellectual speed, vigor and vitality” of the United States
- The model for the coin’s Lady Liberty was the designer’s wife, Teresa de Francisci
- The first Peace Dollar ever struck was sent to then-President Warren Harding, but was never seen again
- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York received 75,000 Peace Dollars as its first shipment on January 4, 1922, and by the end of the day the supply had been “practically exhausted”