1881-O VAM-17

Description

First documented by Martin Field in November 1979, VAM-17 on the 1881-O Morgan Dollar is characterized by a thin dash positioned below the second 8 in the date — a small but diagnostically reliable feature produced by a die gouge or engraving anomaly during die preparation. An additional die chip appears in the top left of the upper loop of the first 8, providing a secondary obverse marker that reinforces the attribution. The reverse is recorded as normal, with no distinguishing features beyond standard die characteristics. Plated as 12 III2 9 - C3a on page 176, the variety is cataloged as die pair 9 within Obverse Die Class III2, paired with Reverse C3a — the plate number of 12 reflecting earlier numbering conventions that differ from the current VAM-17 designation. New Orleans struck 5.708 million Morgan Dollars in 1881, a relatively modest mintage that places the date among the scarcer O-mint issues of the early 1880s. Field's 1979 discovery came during the formative period of systematic Morgan Dollar die variety research, and the "dash under 8" diagnostic has become a well-known identifier among VAM collectors working through the 1881-O die census. =1881-O VAM-17 Dash Under 8= Discovered by Martin Field, November 1979.

External References