Friday marked the first time since my early days of collecting that I was able to hole a Peace Dollar in my hands to admire its beauty. The art deco style is showcased so elegantly in this piece whose primary function was to commemorate the end of World War I. I love how the crown on the Liberty representation seems to be shining.
This is truly a remarkable coin. In having one of few opportunities to posses a number of the liberty designs directly precedent to the present coinage designs, I find myself wondering why we decided to honor dead Presidents as a matter of course on the coinage. Perhaps the change speaks to a need by the central authority to invoke its suzerainty of its people by reminding them that there is a person in charge after all. It started with the Lincoln cent and went onto the Washington quarter… and it was dead Presidents ever since. Our present coinage has been untouched by major design change since 1965 ic the Kennedy half dollar is counted. If not, it can go back as far as 1932, when Washington’s image replaced standing liberty.
Interesting thought, though, eh?
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