1922-D VAM-1P

Description

Discovered by David Close, the 1922-D VAM-1P "Shallow Die Gouge Between IB" Peace dollar identifies a shallow, short die gouge positioned through the fifth tall ray from the front between the letters I and B of LIBERTY on Anthony de Francisci's obverse. The precise location — through a specific counted ray between two specific letters — provides an extraordinarily detailed diagnostic that requires methodical examination to confirm. Die gouges result from accidental tool contact or foreign material on the die surface during preparation, creating a linear depression in the die that produces a corresponding raised line on struck coins. The "shallow" qualifier indicates the gouge does not deeply penetrate the die surface, making the resulting raised line on struck coins subtle and potentially difficult to detect without proper magnification and lighting. Denver struck approximately 15.06 million Peace dollars in 1922, the first year of low-relief production after the high-relief debut of 1921, generating substantial die usage across the production run. The Obverse II 1 classification identifies the standard obverse type, while the Reverse B1a designation distinguishes this die marriage by specifying a B1-type reverse rather than the more common B2 pairing, providing an additional confirmation point when separating VAM-1P from other 1922-D sub-varieties. David Close has been a prolific contributor to Peace dollar VAM documentation, with numerous discoveries across multiple dates. The 1P suffix places this variety relatively early in the alphabetical sub-variety sequence for VAM-1, indicating it was among the earlier sub-variety discoveries for the 1922-D normal die classification. Collectors should count the tall crown rays from the front of Liberty's head to locate the fifth ray between I and B of LIBERTY, then examine that ray under 15-20x magnification with angled illumination to resolve the shallow raised line produced by the die gouge.

External References