 At the time , according to Burdette , given the traumas of the Great War , Americans were highly sensitive about their national symbols , and unwilling to allow artists any leeway in interpretation . The Mint , the Treasury , and the Fine Arts Commission began to receive large numbers of letters from the public objecting to the design . De Francisci attempted to defend his design , stating , " with the sword there is the olive branch of peace and the combination of the two renders it impossible to conceive of the sword as a symbolization of defeat " . Baker had left Washington to visit the San Francisco Mint , a transcontinental journey of three days . Acting Mint Director Mary Margaret O 'Reilly sent him a telegram on December 23 , urgently seeking his approval to remove the sword from the reverse , as had been recommended by Moore and Fraser at a meeting the previous afternoon . Due to the tight timeline for 1921 strikings of the dollar , it was not possible to await Baker 's response , so on the authority of Treasury Undersecretary Seymour Parker Gilbert , who was approached by O 'Reilly , the Mint proceeded with the redesign . To satisfy Harding 's executive order , the Fine Arts Commission quickly approved the change , and by the time Baker wired his approval on December 24 , without being able to see the revisions , Gilbert had already approved the revised design in Secretary Mellon 's absence . A press release was issued late on December 24 , stating that the broken sword which had appeared on de Francisci 's alternate reverse would not appear on the issued coin . In its December 25 edition , the Herald took full credit for the deletion of the broken sword from the coin 's design . 
