Artist:

Anthony de Francisci, born Palermo, Italy 1887-died New York City 1964  Search this

Medium:

silver

Dimensions:

1 1/2 in. (3.9 cm) diam.

Type:

Sculpture-Medal

Date:

1921

Luce Center Label:

This silver dollar commemorates the end of World War I and the international conference on limitation of armaments. The United States Commission of Fine Arts, established by Congress in 1910, selected Anthony de Francisci’s design for the coin. The original design for the reverse showed the eagle grasping a broken sword, but many Americans saw this as a symbol of defeat and protested the image. With no time to make new models, United States Mint engraver George Morgan, working under de Francisci’s supervision, cut the sword from the steel hub and crafted olive leaves from the remains. The work took a full day to complete and the change went undetected for eighty years.

Topic:

Animal\bird\eagle  Search this

Allegory\place\America  Search this

Credit Line:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Anthony de Francisci

Object number:

1966.51.80

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department:

Painting and Sculpture

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk785f62af8-6fa5-4b89-95e7-77b12022a64c

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:saam_1966.51.80