The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 39, September 11, 2005, Article 9

WHAT NEXT? A 1964-D PEACE DOLLAR?

With all the news about the 1933 Double Eagle, a book in my
library reminded me of a similar U.S. rarity of legend, the 1964-D
Peace Dollar. "Glint," a 1995 novel by Joseph Valentinetti revolves
around the coin. According to the Redbook, "316,076 dollars of
the Peace design were struck at the Denver mint in 1965. Plans for
completing this coinage were subsequently abandoned and all of these
coins were melted. None were preserved or released for circulation."

The same edition of the Redbook (58th, 2005) says of the 1933
Double Eagle, that 445,500 were struck and lists just one specimen:
"2002 Auction $7,590,020 ... (Unique)". That wasn't quite correct
even at press time (two examples of the coin were sent to the National
Numismatic Collection on October 2, 1934). With the surfacing
of ten more from the Israel Switt holdings, the coin is even farther
from unique, so expect an update in the next edition.

But back to the 1964-D Peace Dollar: The CoinFacts web site
notes: "A few may have been purchased or "taken" by Mint employees
and rumors persist of this coin's existence. However, for fear of
confiscation by Treasury officials, none have yet appeared on the
market. Were it legal to own, the 1964-D Peace Dollar would
become one of the most valuable of all United States coins."
Full Story

An article by E-Sylum subscriber Michael Marotta notes:
"Writing in his Encyclopedia, Walter Breen said:

"Fern Miller, of the Denver Mint, told the local coin dealer Dan
Brown that as usual various employees had purchased two new
dollars apiece, but that when the recall came in, nobody kept any
record either of the numbers sold to employees or the numbers
turned in."

The quantity melted was determined by weight. Anyone could
have substituted other cartwheels for their 1964-D samples.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Barry Krause and other writers
continue to theorize that 1964-D Peace Dollars do exist."
Full Story

An article by Ed Reiter notes: "Harry J. Forman, a well known
coin dealer from the Philadelphia area and author of several books
on coin investment, has no doubt that '64 silver dollars may exist,
but doubts whether any will surface -- at least in this country. "
Full Story

I recommend all of the above online articles and would
welcome any thoughts on the 1964-D dollar. What were some
of the rumors people heard about their existence? Is there any
written record anywhere of one being in existence outside of the
U.S. Mint? Why were none saved for the National Collection,
as with the 1933 Double Eagles?

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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