1925-P VAM-1E

Description

Discovered by Eric Justice in November 2004, the 1925-P Peace Dollar VAM-1E documents a thin vertical die gouge below the letter R in TRVST on Anthony de Francisci's obverse — a localized defect providing a clean single-point attribution diagnostic. Classified as 1E II 1 B2a with an I-2 interest rating and R-5 rarity, this variety has an estimated population of 13 to 30 confirmed specimens. The gouge is thin and vertical, creating a fine raised line below R on struck coins. Die gouges are incuse defects in the die steel — where a tool or press component displaces metal from the die surface, the resulting void fills with planchet metal during striking and transfers as a raised feature. The vertical orientation below a specific letter makes VAM-1E straightforward to attribute: look directly beneath R in TRVST, the archaic Latin spelling of TRUST on de Francisci's design. The alphanumeric suffix 1E indicates a sub-variety of the baseline VAM-1 die marriage. Cataloged within the system developed by Leroy Van Allen and A. George Mallis, this Philadelphia Mint regular strike was produced in 90% silver at 26.73 grams on 38.1mm planchets. Tilt the coin under magnification and examine the field below R in TRVST for the thin vertical raised line confirming this R-5 variety.

External References