1925-P VAM-1AE

Description

James Cerny discovered this Philadelphia Mint Peace Dollar variety in 2011, identifying a cluster of four die gouges above the letters IN on the obverse as the defining diagnostic. Cataloged as VAM-1AE with classification 1AE II 1 B2a (Four Die Gouges Above IN) at I-2 and R-6 rarity — the R-6 indicating an estimated 30 to 100 known examples — the obverse shows two vertical die gouges above the left side of the letters I and N, similar to the die gouge pattern documented on VAM-1B and VAM-9A, plus two additional vertical die gouges positioned well above and to the left of the I, including one short striated gouge to the left of I. Die gouges are incuse marks in the die surface caused by accidental contact with sharp tools during die handling or maintenance, and they appear as raised features on struck coins. The cluster of four gouges in this specific arrangement above IN provides a distinctive fingerprint for this die, and the similarity to gouges on VAM-1B and VAM-9A suggests these marks may have been created during the same handling event or by the same tool. The 1925 Philadelphia Peace Dollar had a mintage of approximately 10.2 million coins, struck during a period of robust economic activity in the Roaring Twenties. The R-6 rarity suggests this particular die was either withdrawn from service relatively early or produced coins during a limited portion of the overall production run, limiting the number of surviving specimens available to collectors.

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