Q. David Bowers
"From Denver, the coins will be shipped directly to Western Federal Reserve banks-principally those at Los Angeles, San Francisco and Helena, Mont., which serve the areas where they are commonly used in trade.
"The dollars will be handed out to the public through commercial banks only. No special Proof or mint sets will be made up for collectors. Neither the Mint nor the Treasury will sell the coins.
"The banks will be urged, through the American Bankers Assn., and the federal banking agencies, not to sell the cart-wheels at a premium to speculators-a practice believed responsible for keeping many of the new John F. Kennedy half dollars from circulation. Since there is nothing illegal about selling new coins at a profit, the Treasury plans to bring 'moral pressure' on the banks.
"The dollars will be rationed out at the rate of three million to five million a month. This is so they can't all be gobbled up at once.
"Despite these precautions, some officials are doubtful that many of the new dollars will find their way into general circulation or stay there for a very long time. What's to stop a speculator from standing there by the slot machine and offering to buy them from you at a premium when you hit the jackpot?' one Mint source said.
"Silver dollar futures are reported to be selling at a 20% markup. This means speculators are paying $120 for a roll of 100 cartwheels, months before the first coin will be struck.
"Western members of Congress had a big hand in forcing the Treasury to mint the dollars. The Treasury, in the face of a rising silver market, feared that speculators would smelt down the coins and sell the silver as bullion at a big profit. Officials are guessing that the first press run will be in January. This would leave the Mint free the rest of this year to concentrate on other coins which are so badly needed in everyday commerce.
"Assuming production doesn't begin until January, the Mint will have to turn out 45 million cartwheels. Congress wants them all made by June 30, theend of the current fiscal year. June is normally the month when the Mint closes down to take inventory. Thus the probable minting schedule is nine million silver dollars a month from January to May.
"Except for the date, they will be identical with those minted between 1921 and 1935-the so-called 'Peace' dollars. Those were struck to commemorate the armistice that ended World War I. The original master die will be used. It was made from a design by Anthony de Francisci, who beat out eight other prominent sculptors in a contest. Among the unsuccessful contestants was Mint engraver George T. Morgan, who as a young man in 1878 designed the previous silver dollar that bears his name-the one that caused the run on the Treasury early this year.
"The Mint started out making Morgan dollars in 1921. It produced nearly 87 million before changing over to the Peace design in December. About one million Peace dollars were turned out before the end of the year. Coinage of Peace dollars reached 84 million in 1922, then declined steadily until 1928 when fewer than two million were made. None were produced from 1929 to 1933 and only about 3.5 million in each of the two years 1934 and 1935.
"By the end of 1935, the Mint and the Treasury had more than 500 million silver dollars in their vaults and saw no reason to go on swelling the hoard. No more silver dollars were authorized until this year. In the world of the coin collector, the amount a Peace dollar will fetch depends on the year and place of mintage and the coin's condition. A recent issue of Coin World listed 1923 Philadelphias at $2 apiece, in Uncirculated condition. Cartwheels made at San Francisco in 1934 are bringing $200 apiece, Uncirculated.
"Any child who has received a silver dollar in his Christmas stocking knows how the new dollars will look. The head side, or obverse, bears a female head representing 'Liberty,' and 'IN GOD WE TRUST,' and the date of mintage also appear on the head side. The designer's initials, AF, can be found just under Liberty's neck, above the last number of the date.
"The tail, or reverse, side of the Peace dollar shows an eagle perched on a mountain, witnessing the dawn of a new day and holding an olive branch in his talons. Also the words, 'PEACE,' 'ONE DOLLAR,' 'E PLURIBUS UNUM,' and 'THE [sic] UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.' A small letter 'D,' for the Denver Mint, will appear on the tail side beneath the word 'ONE' and near the eagle's wing."
Coinage Imminent (1965)
The following article appeared in Coin World, May 26, 1965, and gave details of the imminent coinage of dollars:
"President Johnson Directs Mint To Strike 45 Million Silver Dollars; Peace Dollars With 1964 Date To Be Made In Denver:
"President Johnson has directed the Bureau of the Mint to manufacture 45 million silver dollars before June 30 of this year at a cost of $600,000. Congress authorized the silver dollar manufacture last summer; President Johnson signed into law provisions for making the coins August 3, 1964.
"An acute coin shortage, however, postponed the dollar manufacture. Most circles believed they would never be struck, and that the $600,000 would revert to the general fund of the Treasury June 30, 1965, which is the end of the fiscal year in government.
"President Johnson's directive came as a surprise, especially among coin collectors who had been making bets the dollars would never be manufactured in the light of the Mint's crash program, a desperate plan to defeat the coin shortage, and in the face of alarming silver shortages. No production date was given by Eva Adams, director of the Mint, from her Washington office, May 17. 'We don't know when the first dollars will be struck,' she said. 'We're not far enough along.'
"She said the current coinage inventory was particularly stronger in the areas of nickels and cents. The Mint director also appealed to the public not to write to her office for one of the new silver dollars. 'We have nothing to do with this type of distribution,' Miss Adams explained. The Mint delivers newly-minted coin to the Federal Reserve banks. Many quarters predicted coin collectors would end up owning most of the new silver dollar issue.
"The law which provides-for the striking of the 45 million silver dollars also decrees they are to bear the 1964 date. They will also, by law, contain 412.5 grains of silver and be struck from a composition of 900/1000 silver. Rumors in Denverhad the coins being struck from 10 per cent silver and 90 per cent copper. Another Denver rumor was that a syndicate was offering $90 million for the entire issue.
"However, Americans will see at least 45 million more true coins-by that, it is meant the dollars will contain metal that is worth, one dollar (slightly more at current silver prices) in each coin. Coins that contain metal worth less than their face value are called 'token coins. A long overdue Treasury report to come within 10 days according to some sources is expected to recommend reduction or elimination of silver in the nation's coins.
"Coin collectors immediately speculated that if a silver dollar manufacture order has been issued, this could mean the government had declared an end to the coin shortage emergency. The president said in his statement giving the go-ahead for the silver dollars that substantial progress has been made in bring the supply of small coins into line with the demand .... "