Saturday Silver spotlight. US Peace Dollars

Today on this edition of the Silver Spotlight I want to take a look at the US Peace Dollars. I'm not going to talk about each individual coin at this point, but do over the series as a whole.

The United States Peace Dollars were produced from 1921 until 1928 and then again in 1934 & 1935. It was minted at Denver (D), San Francisco (S) and Philadelphia (No mintmark). The Pitman Act of 1918 called for the US to start minting more Silver coins. From 1918 to 1921 the older Morgan dollar version was used. The mint wanted a new coin and started a contest for it's new design. Here is the mintage numbers.

New Coin Design

All the major players jumped in with their ideas including the head engraver at the mint. But out of nowhere Anthony De Francisci, who primarily made buttons, plaques and medals, stepped up to the plate. His design won the hearts of the mint but not without some controversy.

The original design of the coin showed an Eagle perched atop a broken sword holding an Olive branch. Being fresh out of WW1 that rendition was not adopted. In an emergency meeting the choice was made to alter the coin prior to production It went under the knife and was updated to it's current form.

Obverse

The Obverse of this coin is said to depict the profile of LIberty itself. With hair billowing and a radiant crown it was a symbolic representation of the sun, perhaps meant to indicate the dawn of a new era.

Reverse

The updated reverse of the coin now featured an eagle at rest carrying an olive branch and perched in front of a sunburst. It also had the countries name, the mint mark and the “E Pluribus Unum” motto.

I would like to update my collection with some nicer examples and will be working on that in the future. Also if you haven't saw the challenge I've issued for myself you can check it out here DSM #DollarChallenge. I'm also dabbling in creating GIF's. This below is my first attempt at it. Thanks for checking it out.

Proud member and supporter of #Steemsivergold.