1879-S VAM-1C

Description

Discovered in May 2009, the 1879-S VAM-1C Morgan Dollar carries the classification III2 1 - C3a (Pitted Face) with die pairing number 181, an impact rating of I-2, and a rarity of R-5 indicating moderate scarcity. The obverse (III2 1) exhibits a rusted die with some fairly large die pits concentrated on Liberty's face at the nose and behind the eye — surface textures created when moisture exposure caused corrosion pitting in the steel die face, with each pit translating into a raised dot or bump on struck coins. The rusting also produced minor quintupled doubling on the bottom edges of the stars and date digits, a subtle but diagnostically valuable feature where five successive hub impressions created a stacked layering effect along the lower margins of these design elements. Additional obverse diagnostics include extra metal on the lower point of the second right star and blunt points on the first and third right bottom stars. The reverse (C3a) shows some doubling of wreath leaves on the left side of the reverse under UNITED, indicating minor hub displacement affected the reverse die as well. The Morgan Dollar was designed by George T. Morgan and struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1879 — the second year of the series authorized by the Bland-Allison Act. Composed of 90% silver and 10% copper, each coin weighs 26.73 grams with a 38.1 mm diameter and a reeded edge. The pitted face designation makes this variety visually distinctive, as the raised dots from die rusting create a textured surface on Liberty's facial features that contrasts with the smooth, properly finished surfaces of non-pitted dies. The R-5 rarity rating indicates this variety requires focused searching to locate properly attributed specimens.

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