1922-D VAM-1E

Description

Discovered by Eric Justice in June 2001 and verified by Leroy Van Allen himself in July 2008, this 1922-D Peace Dollar VAM-1E features a die break below the letters IN on the obverse where a horizontal die crack has widened into a full break. The crack originates at the lower part of Liberty's neck, extends left to the top of the numeral 1, and continues over to the rim below IN, where it widens into the die break that gives this variety its catalog name. Designated 1E II 1 B1a (Die Break Below IN) in the Van Allen-Mallis system, the obverse is die II 1 and the reverse is B1a. The 1922-D Peace Dollar holds enormous significance as the only Denver Mint Peace Dollar issue for that year — and it is inextricably linked to the famous 1922 "No D" Plain variety, where heavily worn dies obliterated the mintmark. This connection means 1922-D Peace Dollars receive intense scrutiny from collectors examining every die characteristic. The verification by Leroy Van Allen, co-creator of the VAM catalog system, adds authoritative provenance to this listing. Die breaks on Peace Dollars are tracked carefully because the high-relief design by Anthony de Francisci placed significant stress on dies during striking, and the progression from crack to break documents the die's deterioration over its production life. The horizontal trajectory of the crack following the neck contour suggests the die failure followed a stress line in the steel.

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