1922-P VAM-1R

Description

Documented in 2010, VAM-1R is a scarce and visually distinctive variety of the 1922 Philadelphia Peace Dollar, carrying the VAMWorld classification 1R II1 – B1a and assigned a rarity rating of R-6, placing it in the very scarce category with an estimated population of only thirteen to thirty known specimens. The obverse die is characterized by heavy circular die polishing lines running through Liberty's hair and along the rays of her tiara — a pattern of raised parallel lines on struck coins resulting from aggressive rotary grinding used to remove clash marks or other damage from the die face. This polishing treatment gives the obverse an unusual textured appearance in the hair and tiara that distinguishes it clearly from unpolished examples. The reverse die, classified as B1a, shows slight doubling on the left side of the ray immediately below ONE and on four rays above ONE — a secondary hub impression that left a faint additional outline on that cluster of design elements. Polished-die Peace Dollar varieties are collected both for their visual drama and their documented scarcity, and the R-6 rating for VAM-1R makes confirmed specimens genuinely difficult to locate in the marketplace. Collectors seeking this variety should use the characteristic circular polishing pattern in the hair as the primary diagnostic, then confirm the reverse ray doubling under magnification.

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