1925-S VAM-1H

Description

Within the scarce 1925-S Peace dollar population — just 1.61 million coins struck at San Francisco, making it one of the key dates in the series — VAM-1H documents the eighth alphabetical suffix variety in the VAM-1 die family. The 1925-S stands as the second-scarcest regular-issue Peace dollar behind only the legendary 1927-S (866,000 mintage), and its low mintage means that every documented die variety carries inherent premium collector interest. Anthony de Francisci's Peace dollar design was in its fourth year of reduced-relief production at San Francisco in 1925, and the limited output suggests a relatively small number of working dies were consumed during the production run. The VAM-1 family designation indicates varieties sharing a common primary die marriage with sub-varieties distinguished by specific secondary characteristics — die scratches, polishing lines, gouges, chips, or die state features that earn each its suffix letter. Collectors pursuing 1925-S Peace dollars face the dual challenge of the date's overall scarcity and the difficulty of locating specific VAM attributions within the small surviving population. The S mintmark on the reverse below the eagle provides the San Francisco identification, and its specific characteristics can vary between reverse dies. VAM-1H occupies a middle position in the suffix sequence, suggesting it was cataloged during the intermediate period of die variety research for this date rather than during either the earliest or most recent documentation campaigns. Higher-grade 1925-S specimens in AU and Mint State are particularly scarce, making any attributable VAM variety in those conditions noteworthy.

External References