1927-S VAM-1F

Description

Michael Ash's September 2006 discovery of VAM-1F revealed a 1927-S Peace Dollar variety bearing heavy die file lines around the eagle and the word DOLLAR on the reverse — physical traces of Mint efforts to remove die clash marks from a working die. Classified as 1F II 1 B2a (Die File Lines Around Eagle) with importance I-2 and rarity R-5, this variety documents a specific episode of die maintenance at the San Francisco Mint. When die clash marks appeared on the reverse die — transferred impressions from the obverse design elements that contaminated the reverse — Mint personnel filed the die surface to remove the offending marks. The filing process, performed by hand using metal files, left parallel striations in the die surface that then transferred as raised lines on every subsequent coin struck. On VAM-1F, these file lines are concentrated around the eagle and DOLLAR, the areas where clash marks from Liberty's portrait on the obverse would have been most prominent. The description specifically notes that this variety is different from VAM-1B, which also shows die file lines but from a separate die with distinct filing patterns. The 1927-S Peace Dollar had a mintage of approximately 866,000 coins — one of the lower production figures in the series — making all 1927-S die varieties inherently scarcer than their Philadelphia or Denver counterparts. The R-5 rarity rating of 31 to 75 known examples reflects this limited production. San Francisco Mint coins from the late 1920s are particularly prized by collectors who value the facility's historically lower mintages and careful striking standards.

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