I hope someone here can tell me what happened to this mintmark? It look's Like a reverse S and a forward S together with a D tilted between the 2 S's. My QX5 isn't working right and i apologize for the pic. I do know that there were no 1935-D Peace dollars minted. Anyone good with RPM's or ever heard or seen anything like this? I can't find any reference to it. Thank's, ozzysdad
The 35-S VAM 3 is sometimes seen with a filled mint mark. This VAM has the C reverse. I can't tell from your photo. I see the ray to the right of the S. Is there another shorter one below the one in your photo? The C reverse (which was only used on some 1935-S coins) has four rays below ONE and seven rays below the eagle's tail feathers.
Re:Ray's on Reverse of 35-S There appear's to be a smaller or shorter ray just above the end of the tail feather which would bring the total of ray's to 5 below the ONE and the seven below the tail feathers. How doe's this affect the value? Thank's, ozzysdad
Not sure that it will have an affect on the value. It's not one of the Top 50 Peace dollars. I was just trying to identify the particular variety. There is a 1935-S variety that is known to have a filled S mint mark as seen on your coin. There were three reverse die types used on the Peace dollars. The A reverse was used on all 1921's and 1922 proofs, the B reverse was used from 1922-28 and 1934-1935, the C reverse was only used on some of the 1935-S coins. The variety (VAM 3) that has the filled mint mark used the C reverse. Here's a photo of the B reverse. It's considered to have three rays under ONE. One goes through the N and the other two are below it. The C reverse has an additional ray. It sounds like this is what you have... a C reverse and probably a VAM 3 with a filled mint mark. The VAM 3 is known as the "extra ray". You might be able to check completed auctions on ebay to see if it has a premium over common value. Personally, seeing it was the only year/mint that used this reverse... and the mint is filled.... I think it's pretty cool.
Thank you, nesvt Thank you for the help... I appreciate you sharing the knowledge. I learned something new, So it hasn't been a wasted day. BTW, Which of the Peace dollar VAM's is the most valuable? I've got quite a few that i haven't looked at really close yet. Best regard's, ozzysdad
If you want to check for the Top 50 and don't have the book, there is a list here. You can subscribe to the updated price list. Here is a price list from Fall 2004. There are others (non-Top 50 coins) that are bringing premiums. I'm more of a buyer than a seller. Check out the ashmore site for the updated VAM list (Morgan and Peace dollars). It has the updates that happened after the last printing of the VAM Book and MANY great photos. The photos take a while to load. When you're on the site, click VAM UPDATE on the left. The VAM UPDATE PAGE will show you the text, the IMAGES FOR ALL UPDATED VAMS will show you the photos.
... and to answer your question about the most valuable... It seems like the ones with die breaks bring more money. Most of the Peace dollars have die cracks, but many of the ones with larger die breaks are on the Top 50 list. For example, the 1922-P VAM 2A "ear ring" has a large die break near Liberty's ear. The common value in MS63 is $28. The January 2005 price list shows it as $500. The 1923-P VAM 1C "tail on O" has a die break attached to the O in DOLLAR. Common value in MS63, $28. VAM value in January 2005, $1200. Lots of others with double rays, letters, etc.
ozzysdad, I should mentioned one more thing. The 50th coin in the Top 50 Peace dollar list is a 1935-S VAM 4. This ALSO has the C reverse. I assumed your coin was a VAM 3 because the VAM 3 is known for a filled mint mark. You should check the diagnostics for the VAM 4 to be sure. It has doubling on the reverse at the eagle's right talon and the bottom edges of the branches, leaves, and berries. The VAM 4 does carry a premium for VAM collectors.... AU50 $80, MS60 $208, MS63 $301.
