1925-P VAM-1AU

Description

Discovered in 2019 by jrfaust, the 1925 Peace Dollar VAM-1AU is identified by a small raised dot on the lower right side of the second-to-last short tiara ray on the obverse (die II 1), paired with reverse die B2a. This variety carries an I-2 interest level, and while initially rated R-5, subsequent population assessments have suggested it may be considerably more common, with the rarity potentially closer to R-2. Raised dots on Peace Dollar dies can result from several causes — a tiny pit in the die surface from corrosion, a manufacturing defect in the die steel, or contact damage during handling — and each produces a small bump on struck coins that appears in a consistent position relative to the surrounding design. The precise location description — lower right side of the second-to-last short tiara ray — uses the radiating crown rays as positional reference points, a convention that Peace Dollar VAM collectors rely on for accurate identification. Anthony de Francisci's Liberty portrait features alternating tall and short rays in the tiara, and the short rays provide compact reference markers where even tiny raised dots can be precisely located for attribution.

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