1922-S VAM-1R

Description

Discovered by Brian Raines in September 2010, the 1922 San Francisco Mint Peace Dollar VAM-1R is classified as II 1 B1a (Double Clash Spikes Eagle's Shoulder #4) with a rarity rating of I-2 R-6. Struck in 90% silver with TRVST on the reverse, this variety records two separate clash events that produced spike-like raised features on the eagle's shoulder area, cataloged as pattern #4 in the clash spike classification system. Double clashes occur when the dies contact each other twice without an intervening planchet, and the two sets of transferred elements can create overlapping or adjacent spike impressions. Die filing added two faint rays to the reverse, documenting Mint intervention where workers filed the die surface in an attempt to remove or minimize the clash evidence. The I-2 R-6 rarity rating reflects lower collector interest paired with a genuinely scarce population. Anthony de Francisci's Peace Dollar design features the perched eagle on the reverse where the shoulder area displays the clash spike diagnostics. The 1922-S represents one of the lower mintage Peace Dollar dates, and Raines's discovery of the double clash spikes with subsequent die filing documents both production error and attempted correction.

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