1926-P VAM-4A

Description

John Ginder discovered this 1926 Philadelphia Mint Peace Dollar die pair in March 2007, cataloged as 4A II 3 - B2a (Doubled Hair, Die Gouge Below V) I-2 R-5. The obverse shows the designer's initials TR doubled — Anthony de Francisci placed his monogram at the base of Liberty's neck — along with a vertical shallow broad die gouge below the V in TRVST and a small vertical die gouge below the N of IN. The doubled TR initials result from hub misalignment during die manufacture, where the successive hub impressions landed at slightly different positions, creating a secondary image of the designer's monogram. The die gouges below V and N are separate from the doubling, representing physical damage to the die surface that transferred as raised marks on struck coins. The 1926 Philadelphia Mint Peace Dollar had a mintage of approximately 1.94 million pieces, one of the lower P-mint figures in the series. The R-5 rarity rating places surviving examples at roughly 13 to 30 known. The combination of doubled designer initials with die gouges affecting two different letters of the motto creates a variety with multiple diagnostic features spread across the obverse, making attribution relatively straightforward once the variety is known. The reverse carries the B2a designation without additional attributable features.

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