Peace Dollar Controversy

Miss Liberty on the obverse is reportedly a portrait of the coin’s designer De Francisci’s then 23 year old wife. According to some he had her pose facing an open window of their New York apartment so the essence of her hair being lightly wind swept could be captured. Miss Liberty’s crown was designed to be similar to the crown on the Statue of Liberty. Originally the reverse of the coin had an Eagle breaking a sword to represent disarmament. There were those in Congress who believed the design would be interpreted as defeat rather than victory and demanded a change. George Morgan redesigned the reverse with the eagle perched on a mountain peak with the word PEACE inscribed below. The designed was quickly approved and the U.S. Mint quickly manufactured the dies and between December 26th and December 31st struck 1,006,473 new silver Peace Dollars. The first Peace Dollar was presented to President Warren G. Harding on January 3rd, 1922.

De Francisci’s original design was to present a high-relief image of Miss Liberty against a large blank background which would have created a very dramatic effect. And it did do just that! But the relief was so high it required at least 2 strikes to bring out the details. And that caused serious problems with die breakage resulting in low production. Again George Morgan stepped in, redesigned a lower relief version more suitable to high mintage production, but the result was less than what De Francisci hoped for.

When the Peace Dollar was released for circulation the criticism seemed endless. It didn’t project enough symbolism. The crown looked like bayonets. The lettering was ugly. How is TRVST pronounced? The Wall Street Journal even went so far as branding Miss Liberty as a flapper (a loose woman of the time) because her lips were parted. And on and on and on. Critics wanted the coins withdrawn from circulation but on February 9, 1922 the U.S. Mint issued a statement saying the Peace Dollar would not be withdrawn.