1883-O VAM-15

Description

Discovered by Leonard Hinckley in February 1974, VAM-15 of the 1883-O Morgan Dollar is classified as a Slanted Date variety under the Van Allen-Mallis attribution system. The diagnostic feature centers on the date positioning: the digits 83 sit higher than their normal placement, creating a noticeable upward slant from left to right across the four-digit date. This die carries the classification III2 7 with a C3a reverse pairing, placing it within the broader family of 1883-O die marriages documented by VAM researchers. An additional unlisted feature includes doubling inside the bottom of the lower loop of the 3 in the date, which may represent either a secondary punch impression or a defect in the date logotype punch itself — a distinction that affects whether the feature originated during die preparation or was inherent in the tooling used across multiple dies. This obverse die is also shared with VAM-38, paired with a different reverse, demonstrating the practice of re-pairing obverse and reverse dies during production runs at the New Orleans Mint. The 1883-O Morgan Dollar was struck in 90% silver and 10% copper, weighing 26.73 grams with a diameter of 38.1 mm, designed by George T. Morgan with Lady Liberty on the obverse and a heraldic eagle on the reverse. The New Orleans Mint produced substantial quantities of Morgan Dollars throughout the 1880s, and the variety's early discovery date in 1974 places it among the first generation of VAM attributions that helped establish the systematic study of Morgan Dollar die varieties.

External References