 By November , proponents of the peace coin had realized that congressional approval was not necessary — as the Morgan dollar had been struck for more than 25 years , it was eligible for replacement at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury under an 1890 act . The Morgan design was then being used for large quantities of silver dollars as the Mint struck replacements for the melted coins under the Pittman Act . Though Congress had not yet convened , Baker contacted Fraser in early November to discuss details of the design competition . According to Burdette , Baker 's newfound enthusiasm came from the fact that President Harding was about to formally declare an end to the war with Germany — a declaration needed because the US had not ratified the Treaty of Versailles . In addition , the Washington Conference on disarmament , for which the administration had great hopes , was soon to convene . On November 19 , Fraser notified competition participants by personal letter , sending official rules and requirements four days later , with submissions due by December 12 . Competition participants included Hermon MacNeil , Victor D. Brenner , and Adolph Weinman , all of whom had designed previous U.S. coins . 
