1923-D VAM-1AY

Description

Eric Justice discovered this die variety in June 2006, adding VAM-1AY to the 1923 Denver Peace Dollar catalog with rarity ratings of I-2 for interest and R-6 for extreme scarcity — indicating fewer than ten known specimens. Classified as II 1 B2a (Break Behind Rear Hair Strands), the obverse die shows a die crack originating from the rear of Liberty's neck, traveling through the T in TRUST, then ascending through the rearmost hair strand where it widens into a thin, long break, with the crack continuing upward through the middle of the Y and along the left side. This progressive die crack pattern documents a substantial structural failure in the obverse die, where metal fatigue propagated from the neck area upward through multiple design elements. Denver struck approximately 6.81 million Peace Dollars in 1923, and the R-6 rarity rating suggests this cracked die was removed from service quickly after the failure progressed to its documented state. The AY suffix indicates this is a late addition to the sub-variety sequence for the primary VAM-1 die marriage, with the extensive letter sequence reflecting how many die states have been documented for this prolific die pairing. The die break pattern through TRUST and the hair strands provides dramatic visual diagnostics under moderate magnification.

External References