My final coin find of the weekend is not a coin but a fantasy. As I was putting my collection in order and taking digital pictures of some coins, I found the image of my ultimate fantasy coin in my pictures folder. It is not a real picture—it is a Photoshop created image of my fantasy coin: the famous, and allegedly non-existent, 1964-D Peace Dollar.

In short, there was a call to strike additional dollars during the early 1960s when there were general coin shortages specifically from western states. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized the US Mint to strike new Peace Dollars. Even though it was not publicized, the Mint created new dies and 30 trial strikes. It was later reported that 316,076 business strikes were made at the Denver branch mint became an open secret. Once congress found out, all but two of the trial strikes were destroyed. The trial strikes were allegedly destroyed in 1970.

Like the 1933 Double Eagles and 1913 Liberty Head Nickels, the 1964-D Peace Dollar is not supposed to exist. And like the 1933 Double Eagles, the Department of the Treasury has declared these coins to be illegal and promised to prosecute any who possess one. However, rumors of the existence of at least five of these coins persist.

I hope everyone had a good weekend and enjoyed reading about these coins as much as I enjoyed writing about them!