1879-S VAM-13
Error
Description
Discovered by Leonard Hinckley in February 1974, the 1879-S VAM-13 Morgan Dollar is cataloged as 13 III2 2 - C3d (S/S Right), die pair 184. The Morgan Dollar was struck at the San Francisco Mint in 90% silver at 26.73 grams and 38.1 mm diameter. The obverse is a normal die of type III2 with an open 9, while the reverse (C3d) features a type IV S mintmark that is doubled on all of the right side of the upper serif — an S/S Right repunched mintmark. Mintmarks on Morgan Dollars were hand-punched into working dies at the Philadelphia Mint before being shipped to branch mints, and any misalignment during this process created the repunched mintmark varieties that VAM collectors prize. Importantly, this obverse die is shared with VAM-12, VAM-12A, and VAM-55, while this specific reverse die was used on both VAM-13 and VAM-53. These die-sharing relationships are critical for attribution, as they allow collectors to confirm the correct die marriage by matching both obverse and reverse characteristics. The 1879-S is one of the more common Morgan Dollar dates and a popular entry point for VAM collecting.
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