Naturally, the key to finding rare Peace silver dollars is knowledge. Fortunately, you can acquire this knowledge quite inexpensively. Once you do, you will have almost as much knowledge as the experts in the series, such as Leroy C. Van Allen; David Close, M.D.; Michael Faraone; and Jeff Oxman. Finally, you can use the PCGS Population Reports to determine “relative rarity” overall and in various grades as compared to another coin of your choosing in order to make a determination about purchasing.
In his opus, The Comprehensive Catalog and Encyclopedia of Morgan & Peace Dollars, Leroy Van Allen and co-author A. George Mallis provided a detailed history of the Peace Dollar, minted from 1921 to 1935. They detail designer Anthony de Francisci as the winner of a Peace Dollar design competition and the use of his wife, Teresa Cafarelli de Francisci, as a model in designing the obverse. The reverse includes the word “Peace” symbolizing the abolishment of war and a new era of peace. However, Van Allen’s greatest contribution was the establishment of a die cataloging system now called “VAM,” a term borrowing the initials from the surnames of authors Van Allen and Mallis.
Van Allen simply assigned a consecutive number to every new variety. Thus, VAM 1 was assigned to a normal common obverse paired with a normal common reverse. Behind each VAM number was a description of the die pair used to strike the coin. The first normal design type, the 1921 High Relief, was labeled “IV,” with the first normal hub and die labeled as “IV 1.” The first normal reverse design type was labeled “D,” and the first normal hub and die were labeled as “D1a.” Together, the first obverse-reverse die pair was labeled as IV 1·D1a.” When he encountered a 1921 with infrequent reeding, the third side of the coin, he labeled it VAM 2 and “IV 1·D1A.” You need not know the labels of the hubs and dies used to find a rare die variety. This is not scientific notation, but it is Van Allen’s shorthand labeling description of design types, hubs, and dies used to strike the coin. All you need to know is that the coin in hand matches the picture in the book and is called a VAM (whatever given number).
In 2002, David Close, M.D., and Jeff Oxman wrote The Official Guide to the Top 50 Peace Dollar Varieties. These are the rarest and most desirable of Van Allen VAM varieties in the Peace Dollar series chosen by the authors. Ever since, a growing number of dealers and collectors have been looking closely at their Peace Dollars, usually with a 10X loupe in the hopes of finding one of these rare and desirable coins.
In 2012, Van Allen wrote a masterful 273-page book titled Wonders of Peace Dollars, now available in digital form on Amazon Kindle and soon to be in print via Amazon. Just about everything you would ever want to know about Peace Dollars is described in this book: history, availability, hoards, design types, accidental die flaws, intentional die flaws, counterfeits, planchet errors, and striking errors, along with detailed die descriptions and hundreds of photos. The only thing missing are new VAM discoveries since 2012, which are published each year by John Baumgart as a supplement to the VAM Encyclopedia (available on VAMworld.com, which is another great resource!).
The 1921 Peace Dollar was struck in high relief. However, striking coins in high relief resulted in many defects and weakened details. Nevertheless, 1,006,473 coins were minted. By 1922, the obverse and reverse were designed in lower relief and would remain so through the end of the coin’s production in 1935. Among the rarest 1921 Peace Dollars in the entire series are the satin finish proof and the 1922 matte finish proofs, with only one of the former certified by PCGS and eight of the latter. Also certified by PCGS is a single 1921 sandblasted antiqued finish proof and a 1922 sandblasted antiqued finish pattern labeled J-2018.
Among my favorite Peace Dollar varieties is the Top 50 1934-D VAM 4 Small “D” reverse with doubled die obverse. It has an overall PCGS population of 123, with only 39 graded in Mint State. This variety is noticeable with the unaided eye with strongly doubled rays on the obverse.
It should not be confused with its more common sibling, the Top 50 1934-D VAM 3 with Medium “D” reverse paired with the same doubled die obverse as the VAM 4. The latter has a PCGS population of 267 with a Mint State population of 154. Perhaps a good comparison of the relative rarity of these coins can be made with the key date, the 1934-S, which has an overall population of 7,955 and a Mint State population of 2,335. Or, you can compare it to another key date, the 1928, which has a PCGS population of 13,898 and a Mint State population of 8,851.
In general, my favorite varieties are those with a huge “WOW” factor and include the die crack varieties and the cuds. The Top 50 1922 VAM 2A Earring is one of my favorites, with an eyeball-noticeable die break resembling an earring extending from Miss Liberty’s ear. PCGS has graded 125 examples in all grades with only 60 in Mint State.
Top 50 1923 VAM 1C Tail on O reverse is another favorite and shows a noticeable die break on the top of the “O” of “DOLLAR” on the reverse. In all grades, PCGS has certified 124 examples with 72 in Mint State. Another popular die break variety is the Top 50 1922 VAM 12A Moustache. This displays a die break under Miss Liberty’s nose resembling a moustache. PCGS has certified only 278 examples in all grades and 123 in Mint State. Again, compare the relative rarity of these varieties to the key date 1928, either overall or in Mint State, and you can start to appreciate the rarity of these interesting “WOW”-factor varieties, which in many cases are currently comparable in price or less than the key date.
Top 50 1923 VAM 1C Tail on O reverse is another favorite and shows a noticeable die break on the top of the “O” of “DOLLAR” on the reverse. In all grades, PCGS has certified 124 examples with 72 in Mint State. Another popular die break variety is the Top 50 1922 VAM 12A Moustache. This displays a die break under Miss Liberty’s nose resembling a moustache. PCGS has certified only 278 examples in all grades and 123 in Mint State. Again, compare the relative rarity of these varieties to the key date 1928, either overall or in Mint State, and you can start to appreciate the rarity of these interesting “WOW”-factor varieties, which in many cases are currently comparable in price or less than the key date.
If you study various type coins from copper to silver to gold, you will notice that the key varieties of that series normally exceed the value of the key dates. Those who collect half cents, large cents, and Bust Half Dollars have long known this, as they were among the earliest publishers of rare die varieties in each of those series. For example, try comparing the values of the 1877 Indian Cent to the 1873 Doubled Die Obverse Indian Cent or the 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter to the 1918/7-S Standing Liberty Quarter. Why is this so? This is because the mintage of a key date may involve many die pairs to strike the entire mintage, whereas a rare die variety usually happens with the striking of only one die pair within the striking of an entire mintage.
Like most other commodities, the price of coins is based on supply and demand. However, the supply of coins is fixed by mintage and surviving examples. One can determine the yearly “recruitment” of any coin or variety by looking up the overall population of that coin as well as Mint State coins from population reports many years ago and the populations today. Then, one only needs to divide the number of examples that have been graded by the number of years passed to get an idea of yearly recruitment to the population. While not perfect, it can provide a “relative measure” of how rare a key date or variety might be, with an expectation of how many might surface each year. Consequently, changes in demand for a rare die variety can result in substantial price increases.
Among the rarest Peace Dollar varieties are retained cuds and cuds. These typically represent the later die states of striking, a time at which the die was beginning to break after repeated striking of metal on metal or has finally broken off resulting in raised metal along the rim. Cuds are considered terminal die states, a point in which the die was taken out of service. Normally, a small percentage of the minting of coins took place after a die break with quality assurance inspectors removing the die to ensure a good-quality coin. Some examples certified by PCGS include the Elite 30 1922-S VAM 2X Reverse Rim Cud, the Elite 30 1922-D VAM 1M Obverse Die Cud, and the Elite 30 1923-S Reverse Retained Cud. These have overall PCGS populations of two, seven, and six examples, respectively.
Vastly underappreciated variety/error Peace Dollars, and among my favorites with a huge “WOW” factor, are those with rotated dies, also called “rotated reverses.” Of the 190 million Peace Dollars struck, a very small percentage were produced with rotated dies. This occurs when one of the die holders loosens or breaks, allowing the die to freely rotate either clockwise or counterclockwise during subsequent striking. In a normal striking, the dies are aligned 180 degrees apart, such that flipping a coin from top to bottom, from obverse to reverse, the portraits will appear right side up. Flip a coin side by side, and the portraits will appear 180 degrees apart. However, when flipping a coin from the obverse, top to bottom, you might see the eagle lying sideways more than 15 degrees (normal mint tolerance) in positions all the way to 180 degrees. These are rare and desirable coins with rotated dies. While PCGS does not list its certified rotated dies, as each one could be unique, I estimate there are only a few thousand in existence. Naturally, the higher the grade, the greater the rotation, the more valuable the coin. Currently, I believe these are priced way too little, given the rarity and novelty.
In conclusion, the key to finding rare Peace silver dollars is knowledge. By studying the PCGS Population Reports, you can determine the relative rarity of rare die varieties. By referencing them to key dates in the series, you can draw your own conclusions on what to pursue for your own collection. As I like to say, “knowledge is king!”