Minting of 45 million new Peace Silver Dollars was ordered in 1964 by President Johnson on request from some congressmen to meet demand from Nevada casinos. However, it was a controversial mintage because the critical shortage of silver at that time fueled rampant hoarding of silver coins. To stem hoarding, the Coinage Act of 1965 was passed by Congress, mandating the removal silver content of coins for circulation minted after December 31, 1964. This act of Congress, hence, overrode Johnson’s order even as more than 300,000 peace dollars were already struck at the Denver mint. These Peace Silver Dollars were consequently melted notwithstanding the production price already spent in its minting.
With the Coinage Act of 1965, the Peace Silver Dollar has earned the distinction of being the last true silver dollar coin minted for circulation, increasing its value notches higher among numismatists and collectors. The price of these silver dollars depends on certain key years in this Peace series, such as 1921 and 1928, which command the premium prices. Value and price of the peace silver dollar are also indicated under the VAMs classification system. This classification is based on an extensive numismatic research by Leroy C. Van Allen and A. George Allis, from whom the VAM acronym and system extensively used today, has been based.