United States Peace dollar

The United States Peace dollar is a silver dollar coin struck by the United States Mint. Originally introduced in 1921, it was the final circulating United States dollar coin produced in 90 per cent silver. The piece was created following a competition to find designs emblematic of peace in the aftermath of the First World War, with the winning composition sculpted by Anthony de Francisci. Alongside the Morgan dollar, it represents one of the most widely produced American silver dollar series of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Production of the coin was spurred by the Pittman Act of 1918, which mandated the melting and subsequent replacement of hundreds of millions of silver dollars. Although the Mint briefly resumed striking the older Morgan design in 1921, numismatic lobbying persuaded government officials to approve a new motif, which was sanctioned by Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon in December 1921. Before the first pieces were struck, the Mint removed an intended broken sword from the design after public concern that it suggested defeat. Regular coinage continued until 1928, when the Pittman Act requirements were satisfied, before further legislation prompted additional strikes in 1934 and 1935. In early 1965, the Denver Mint struck coins dated 1964, though these were never issued and are believed destroyed. Production resumed for collectors in 2021 and continued from 2023 onwards.

The obverse of the coin displays the head and neck of the Goddess of Liberty viewed in profile. On the reverse, the coin features a bald eagle at rest clutching an olive branch, accompanied by the legend "Peace". The adoption of de Francisci's design concluded a broader redesign of United States coinage that had originated in 1907.