1922-S VAM-1AN

Description

Identified in 2015, the 1922-S VAM-1AN "Beveled Field Hair Front" Peace dollar documents a die polishing artifact on the obverse — a beveled (angled or sloped) field at the front of Liberty's hair and below the first ray extending from her crown, resulting from aggressive die polishing that removed metal unevenly from the die surface. Cataloged as 1AN II1 - B1c (Beveled Field Hair Front) with die classification I-2 and rarity rating R-5 (approximately 30-75 known), this variety captures evidence of the die maintenance procedures employed at the San Francisco Mint during production. San Francisco produced approximately 17.48 million Peace dollars in 1922, consuming numerous die pairs that required periodic maintenance to remove accumulated die clash marks, flow lines, and surface degradation. Die polishing — the process of smoothing the die face with abrasive materials — was routinely performed to extend die life, but when applied unevenly, it could create beveled or concave areas in the die field that transferred as correspondingly raised or angled surfaces on struck coins. Anthony de Francisci's Peace dollar obverse features Liberty's face in profile with detailed hair flowing backward and radial rays emanating from her crown, and the junction between the hair front and the first ray creates an area where die polishing could preferentially remove field metal at an angle, producing the beveled effect documented in this variety. The Reverse B1c classification distinguishes this die marriage from the more common B2a pairings, identifying a specific reverse die type. The AN suffix places this deep within the alphabetical sub-variety sequence of the VAM-1 family for 1922-S, indicating extensive prior documentation. At R-5, specimens surface with moderate frequency for patient searchers.

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