1921-P VAM-1AE

Description

Discovered in 2017 by Bob Folkers, the 1921-P VAM-1AE Peace Dollar is classified as I1 - Aa (Rusted Obverse and Reverse With Die File Lines), documenting a die pair that experienced both moisture-induced corrosion and subsequent maintenance filing. The obverse (I1) shows raised dots and splotches across the fields and Liberty's neck front — surface textures corresponding to rust pits in the die face — along with die file lines at WE, the date, ERT, and the rear of Liberty's hair, where manual filing was performed to remove the worst of the rusted pitting. The reverse (Aa) displays fine raised dots and splotches in the fields with some fine die file lines in the right and lower fields, representing a less severe but still visible pattern of corrosion and maintenance. A notable discovery coin observation records that the specimen has a reverse rim cud near ONE — a die break at the rim that is unrelated to the rust pitting but adds additional variety interest to the discovery piece. The 1921 Peace Dollar is the inaugural year of Anthony de Francisci's design, produced in High Relief for its first year only before the relief was lowered for subsequent dates. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 90% silver at 26.73 grams with a 38.1 mm diameter, the 1921 Peace Dollar had a mintage of approximately 1,006,473 pieces — the lowest production figure in the entire Peace Dollar series. This scarcity, combined with the high-relief format, makes any 1921-P Peace Dollar variety noteworthy. The coexistence of die rust pitting and file lines on both faces documents a sequence where moisture exposure damaged the die surfaces, followed by mint personnel filing the dies in an attempt to restore acceptable surface quality before returning them to production.

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