1925-P VAM-1AH

Description

Discovered in October 2011 by Odis Wooten and John Baumgart, VAM-1AH documents a die file lines and scratches variety on the upper reverse of the 1925 Philadelphia Mint Peace Dollar. Classified as 1AH II1 - B2a with a rarity rating of I-3 R-6, this variety's defining diagnostic feature is a set of vertical die file lines visible at the eagle's right shoulder area combined with die scratches running in various directions at the eagle's right shoulder and in the field below the UM of UNUM. The die file lines indicate that a Mint employee used a file on the working die — likely to remove a clash mark, a die crack, or an unwanted flow line — and in doing so left parallel linear impressions that transferred as raised lines onto every coin subsequently struck from that die. The R-6 rarity rating on the Van Allen-Mallis scale denotes an estimated surviving population of 13 to 30 known examples, placing VAM-1AH firmly in the scarce category and making confirmed specimens genuinely difficult to locate in the market. Anthony de Francisci's Peace Dollar reverse, depicting a bald eagle perched on a rock with an olive branch and the word PEACE below, positions the eagle's right shoulder and the UNUM inscription in the upper reverse quadrant where this variety's diagnostics concentrate. The 1925 Philadelphia Peace Dollar had a mintage of 10,198,000 in 90% silver at 26.73 grams. Collectors examining candidates should focus 7x or greater magnification on the field between the eagle's shoulder and the UM of UNUM, looking for the characteristic directionality of file marks versus random die scratches.

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