 It is uncertain who originated the idea for a US coin to commemorate the peace following World War I ; the genesis is usually traced to an article by Frank Duffield published in the November 1918 issue of The Numismatist . Duffield suggested that a victory coin should be " issued in such quantities it will never become rare " . In August 1920 , a paper by numismatist Farran Zerbe was read to that year 's American Numismatic Association ( ANA ) convention in Chicago . In the paper , entitled Commemorate the Peace with a Coin for Circulation , Zerbe called for the issuance of a coin to celebrate peace , stating , 
