1924-P VAM-1AO

Description

Eliminated as a duplicate of 1924-P VAM-1G, VAM-1AO had initially cataloged a "Pitted Obverse #5" on the 1924 Philadelphia Peace Dollar under classification II1 - B2a with interest I-2 and rarity R-6. The obverse exhibited raised dots and small splotches scattered across the fields and Liberty's head, heaviest at the upper left — surface characteristics resulting from rusted die pitting where moisture attacked the steel die during storage, creating corrosion cavities that transferred as raised features onto struck coins. The die marker of wide raised dots on the forehead served as a confirmatory attribution point. Philadelphia struck 11,811,000 Peace Dollars in 1924, Anthony de Francisci's third year of production, and the R-6 rarity indicated only 5 to 12 known examples before the duplicate determination was made. The elimination of VAM-1AO under the finding that it represents the same die as VAM-1G demonstrates the self-correcting nature of the VAM cataloging system, where independent discoveries by different researchers sometimes converge on identical die marriages that are later consolidated. Despite its eliminated status, the VAM-1AO documentation remains in the archival record to prevent future re-attribution and to preserve the research lineage that led to the duplicate identification.

External References