1879-S VAM-12A
Error
Description
Originally cataloged as VAM-11A, this San Francisco Morgan Dollar variety was reclassified in 2010 when VAM-11A was eliminated and merged into VAM-12A as the exact die pairing to VAM-12. The discovery coin was attributed by Ken1793, with a revision by Petrosie in 2016. VAM-12A follows the III 2 7 - C3c die pairing notation. The obverse shows doubling of the 187 date digits and an S/S Left mintmark repunching in which the final S sits east of the earlier ghost impression. The reverse carries heavy vertical die file lines below the right tail feathers and above the arrowhead shafts — polishing striations left in the die steel during reconditioning. Additional markers include a small horizontal spike below the first berry cluster and a tiny spike at the back of the eagle's head. The 90% silver 1879-S Morgan Dollar is a well-studied date within the 1878–1904 and 1921 series; VAM-12A's combination of date doubling, mintmark repunching, and file-line diagnostics provides multiple independent identification points.
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