1926-P VAM-5

Description

Discovered by David Close, the 1926-P VAM-5 Peace Dollar exhibits doubled right reverse rays — a variety where portions of the eagle's radiating sunburst on the reverse show evidence of misaligned hub impressions during die preparation. The doubling manifests on rays in the middle section below DOLL and in the middle rays above and below AR of DOLLAR, along with slight doubling on the right side of the lower left olive leaf. Classified as II-1 B2c in the Van Allen-Mallis system with an interest level of I-2 and rarity of R-5, this variety occupies an intermediate position in both collector appeal and availability. Peace Dollars were designed by Anthony de Francisci and produced from 1921 through 1935, featuring a radiant Liberty head on the obverse and a perched eagle before a sunrise on the reverse — the rays emanating from that sunrise being the specific design element where the doubling appears. The 1926-P (Philadelphia) had a mintage of approximately 1.9 million pieces, a relatively modest production figure that places it among the lower-mintage Peace Dollar dates. VAM-5 demonstrates that even a single hub impression variance during die manufacture could leave visible evidence on the sharply defined rays of de Francisci's reverse design. Collectors pursuing Peace Dollar VAMs value doubled ray varieties because the rays' fine, parallel lines make doubling comparatively easy to detect and photograph, providing clear visual evidence of the die-making anomaly.

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