1921 Peace Dollar - PCGS-62 (VAM-1H - Business Strike from Satin Proof Dies)

[RWB]

The coin pictured above is a 1922 medium relief pattern/experimental piece - it was the final coin of a short test run and was a failure. This was discussed in Renaissance of American Coinage 1916-1921 a decade ago - long before PCGS got it's mitts on this one and decided to confuse the situation with false, misleading and self-serving terminology.

 

For 1921 circulation coins, there are a bunch of varieties as Messydesk mentioned.

[mumu]

RWB I believe you have asked a couple of times now about the proof die peace strikes and what proof there was as to wether they were in fact struck from proof dies. The Matte die 1F in aprticular has very unique markers which are found on the proof coins. Most notably the little "straw" like die chip or whatever it is above the 2nd post of the V as seen on the zoomed in Jack Lee proof piece. That's an unmistakable marker not found on any other vams. The other markers are also there.

 

https://coins.ha.com/itm/proof-peace-dollars/1921-1-matte-pr65-ngc-ex-jack-lee-formerly-offered/a/308-8375.s?hdnJumpToLot=1x=0&y=0#

 

 

[RWB]

OK. Thanks for the marker. It seems odd that so many 1921s seem to be from the "proof" die pair. Must have been an exceptionally good set of dies.

 

[mumu]

OK. Thanks for the marker. It seems odd that so many 1921s seem to be from the "proof" die pair. Must have been an exceptionally good set of dies.

 

How many have you counted? There are both "from satin proof dies" and "from matte proof dies". And while they have now gotten several threads, I have been looking for them for 5 years and have seen 5 for sale (bought 2). And 4 of them I saw in the past year.

[RWB]

They seem to pop up on ebay and VAMworld a lot....I have not paid much attention - it's tough enough to get the TPGs to correct their past assumptions without adding circulation coins that really have little more than a slight passing interest.

[ovg]

Nice MS62. I’d give it a 63.  Here is my 1921 VAM-H1. Nice satin finish.  These photos don’t show the details well.  The coin is fully struck. 

[RWB]

Nice coin. Above average detail, but not fully "struck." Since detail is rarely considered with 1921s are sold at auction, paying a "MS-63" price for the coin represents a nice bargain.

[ovg]

I cracked the coin out.  I wish you could see it in hand.  I’m sending it to a different grading service without the The Walter Breen letter where 

he declares it without a doubt a satin proof.  Because of Breen’s background as a pedophile his opinions are not worth the paper printer on.

[physics-fan3.14]

On 3/22/2016 at 12:35 PM, Nutmeg Coin said:

My first impression was that it was AU58; is there really enough detail on the coin for high MS?

The key with these is to not confuse "strike" with "wear." The dull grey highpoints you see are from strike. This is sometimes quite hard to tell from a picture online, but should be more obvious in hand. 

[physics-fan3.14]

On 11/18/2017 at 11:15 AM, ovg said:

Because of Breen’s background making stories up for a fee with no basis his opinions are not worth the paper printer on.

Corrected. Breen is often discredited in numismatic circles because he invented more stories than facts. He would tell you whatever you wanted if you wrote him a check. His personal life is another issue entirely. 

[ovg]

Yes, I’ve heard of Breem writing an opinion for the right price. Pathetic. When I get the coin back from grading I’ll post results and hi res pictures.