1928-S VAM-5

Description

Michael Ash discovered this die marriage in October 2005, documenting VAM-5 as a substantially doubled variety on the 1928 San Francisco Peace Dollar — classified as II 3 B2a (Doubled TRV, Nose and Lips) with rarity ratings of I-3 for interest and R-5 for scarcity. The obverse die shows doubling across multiple design elements: the designer's initials and letters TRV on the right side, slightly doubled D WE on the bottom right and at the back of the neck, doubled nose and lips on Liberty's portrait, and slightly doubled front rays on the left side. This broad distribution of doubling across the obverse — spanning letters, facial features, and decorative rays — indicates a significant hub displacement that affected a wide arc of the design. The 1928-S is the key date of the Peace Dollar series, with only 1.63 million struck, making it the lowest-mintage regular-issue Peace Dollar. The combination of key-date status and a visually dramatic doubled variety makes VAM-5 particularly desirable. The R-5 rarity rating suggests fewer than 30 known specimens of this specific die marriage, adding genuine scarcity to the already challenging base date. The nose and lips doubling provides especially compelling visual diagnostics on Liberty's high-relief portrait.

External References