1928-S VAM-8

Description

Discovered by Jeff Oxman in November 2006, VAM-8 of the 1928-S Peace Dollar carries the classification II 6 - B2b and describes doubling on several obverse elements: WE and TR (from the motto IN GOD WE TRUST), the back of the hair bun, the back of the hair, the back of the neck, and Anthony de Francisci's designer initials — all slightly doubled to the right. The affected areas trace a path along the right profile of Liberty's head and into the motto inscription, consistent with a hub displacement that shifted the secondary impression rightward relative to the primary image. Die markers are particularly prominent: vertical polishing lines appear on Liberty's face and between the last two right rays, indicating the die received filing or polishing maintenance that left permanent tooling artifacts in the die cavity. The B2b reverse classification with a medium high S mintmark places the San Francisco mintmark above the standard vertical position but not at the extreme high position seen on some other 1928-S die pairings. The R-5 rarity rating estimates 30 to 75 surviving examples. The 1928-S Peace Dollar holds special significance as the lowest-mintage regular-issue Peace Dollar at just 1,632,000 pieces struck, making any attributed variety from this date-mint particularly desirable among Peace Dollar specialists. At 90% silver, 26.73 grams, and 38.1 mm diameter, the 1928-S combines key-date status with VAM attribution to create one of the more compelling entries in the Peace Dollar variety census.

External References