Minted between 1921 and 1928, and again between 1934 and 1935, the Peace Dollar was the last silver dollar minted in the United States.

The Pittman Act of 1918 required that up to 350 million silver dollars be converted into bullion and that for each coin that was converted, a new one had to be minted.  More than 270 million silver dollars — nearly have of all that were ever struck — were melted down.  Paving the way for an equal number of new coins.

The popular Morgan Silver Dollar hadn’t been minted since 1904.  But to comply with the Pittman Act, 86 million Morgan Silver Dollars were produced in 1921.  But a movement was afoot to design a coin that would commemorate the end of World War I.

As the Mint’s chief engraver, George T. Morgan — the designer of the Morgan Silver Dollar — was the likely choice to design the new coin.  But President Warren G. Harding ordered than an open competition be held sponsored by the Commission of Fine Arts.

Nine artists entered the competition, including the designers of the Lincoln Penny, the Mercury Dime, and the Standing Liberty Quarter.  The design of an Italian immigrant named Anthony de Francisci carried the day.  Francisci’s wife was the model for Lady Liberty and his initials are visible under her neck.  Also an immigrant from Italy, she considered modeling for the coin the culmination of a lifelong dream.

The Peace Dollar is so named because the word “peace” appears at the base of the rock on which the eagle is perched.  Morgan did have a hand in the design.  He replaced the broken sword in the eagle’s beak with a more pacifist olive branch.

The first Peace Dollars were minted on December 26, 1921, but there were problems with the design.  The relief of the coin was so high that the dies used to produce it were breaking at record pace.  And the coins didn’t stack well.   The next year, the design was modified to lower the relief.

In 1928, the number of new silver dollars produced finally equaled the number melted down in compliance with the Pittman Act, and production stopped.   To back up existing silver certificates — paper dollars that could be redeemed for silver — some additional Peace Silver Dollars were minted between 1934 and 1935.

In May of 1964, 316,000 Peace Silver Dollars were struck in Denver.  But by order of Congress, all those coins were melted down.  There are rumors that there are still some in existence, but owning them is illegal.

Several Peace Dollars are valuable.  Extra-fine 1921, 1928-P, and 1934-S Peace Dollars are worth a bundle.   And extra-fine 1925 and 1928-S are also valuable.

Read more about the history of U.S. silver dollars here.