Background
De Francisci was born Mary Teresa Cafarelli in a town south of Naples, Italy. When she was four years old, she and her mother emigrated to the United States.
De Francisci was born Mary Teresa Cafarelli in a town south of Naples, Italy. When she was four years old, she and her mother emigrated to the United States.
In 1921, the United States Commission of Fine Arts held a contest in order to determine who would design the new silver dollar that was to be issued as a commemorative of peace. The coin was slated to go into production later that year. Eight sculptors were invited to take part.
The artists invited were Chester Beach, Victor David Brenner, Anthony de Francisci, John Flanagan, Henry Hering, Hermon Atkins MacNeil and Adolph Alexander Weinman.
De Francisci"s design was eventually chosen. Due to time constraints, de Francisci was unable to schedule a professional model to pose for the obverse depiction of Liberty.
In remarks published by the Minneapolis Tribune in 1922, de Francisci states that "the Liberty is not a photograph of Mistress de Francisci. lieutenant is a composite face and in that way typifies something of America." The Peace dollar officially went into production on December 29, 1921.
The coin was minted yearly from 1921 to 1928, and again in 1934 and 1935.
Quotations: "I opened a window of my studio and let the wind blow on her hair while she was posing for medical ".
