1922-D VAM-1H

Description

Discovered by Michael Fey in November 2002 and revised in 2012, the 1922-D VAM-1H is a Peace dollar variety struck at the Denver Mint featuring a prominent Die Break on the Left Obverse. Classified as II 1 - B1a (Die Break Left Obverse), this variety documents a dramatic structural failure in the obverse die that produced a distinctive raised feature on struck coins. The Peace dollar is composed of 90% silver and 10% copper, weighing 26.73 grams with a 38.1 mm diameter, designed by Anthony de Francisci. Denver struck 15,063,000 Peace dollars in 1922, the second highest mintage facility for the date after Philadelphia's record 51.7 million. The obverse die shows a long circular heavy die crack running from the L in LIBERTY through the N of IN to the top of the 19 in the date, with a side branch extending to the rim above IN. The die has sunk with a displacement break running from below the L to the numeral 1, indicating that a substantial section of the die face fractured and shifted downward under the repeated stress of striking. This type of progressive die failure creates a raised ridge on struck coins that follows the crack path, with the displaced section producing slightly different relief characteristics in the affected area. The reverse die, designated B1a, shows slight doubling on ONE and the first ray above and three rays below, adding a secondary variety characteristic to the die pairing. The severity of the obverse die break on VAM-1H suggests this die was used well past the point where it would normally have been retired, likely during a period of high production demand when replacement dies were not immediately available at the Denver facility.

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