Peace Dollar - Part 1 0

[RWB]

From Sunday's E-sylum publication.

Making the Peace Dollar, Part One

Over on CoinWeek, Roger Burdette published the first of a series of articles on the making of the Peace Dollar, adapted and updated from his book, Renaissance of American Coinage 1916-1921. Here's a short excerpt - see the complete article online. -Editor

  

An American silver dollar commemorating peace was a nice idea, but it was also mired in post-war complexity.

1920 ANA Convention members discussed the subject and decided to appoint a committee “…to cooperate with government officials to secure the issue of a Peace-Victory coin, and to aid in the selection of a design and size of the coin.” The “Peace-Victory Commemorative Committee” consisted of Judson Brenner, chairman; J.M. Henderson, MD; Howland Wood (American Numismatic Society curator); Farran Zerbe (coin dealer); and William A. Ashbrook (United States House of Representatives, D-OH17).

Representative Ashbrook was a coin collector, a six-time member of the United States Mint’s Assay Commission, and a former chairman of the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. He should have brought considerable clout to the ANA’s efforts. But when the Party gained control of the House in 1918, Representative Albert Henry Vestal (R-IN8) replaced him as committee chairman; Ashbrook was defeated for reelection in November 1920. Nevertheless, Vestal and Ashbrook were friends, and Ashbrook was well-regarded by committee members from both parties. He used his waning influence to persuade Vestal to call an informal committee meeting on December 14, 1920, to hear the ANA’s suggestions for a peace commemorative. Of the ANA members appointed to the committee, only Brenner, Henderson, and Ashbrook attended the House Coinage Committee meeting.

To read the complete article, see:
Making the Peace Dollar, Part One: Stuck in Committee (https://coinweek.com/a-victory-peace-dollar-part-one-stuck-in-committee/)