1923-S VAM-1AD1

Description

Discovered by David Close, the 1923-S VAM-1AD1 Peace Dollar features triple die clash spikes rising from the eagle's right shoulder on the reverse — the third such eagle shoulder spike variety documented for this date, differentiated from VAMs 1R and 1X by wider and stronger spikes. Cataloged as die pairing 1AD II 1 - B2a with an I-2 interest level and R-5 rarity, indicating an estimated 31-75 known specimens, the clash spikes originate from the back of Liberty's head and neck on the obverse die transferring design elements during a die clash event where the dies struck each other without a planchet between them. Triple clash indicates this die pair clashed at least three times during its service life, with each successive clash potentially deepening and widening the transferred design remnants that appear as spikes on the eagle's shoulder. The 1923-S Peace Dollar was produced at San Francisco with a mintage of approximately 19.0 million pieces, one of the larger San Francisco figures in the Peace Dollar series. Die clash varieties are inherently connected to production circumstances — clashes occur when the automated feeding mechanism fails to insert a planchet between die strokes, and the frequency of clashs depends on the reliability of the feeding equipment and production speed. The presence of three documented eagle shoulder spike varieties (VAMs 1R, 1X, and 1AD1) for the 1923-S date suggests that clash events were not uncommon during this production run at San Francisco.

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