1883-O VAM-16
Error
Description
Discovered by Oscar Simpson in March 1977, the 1883-O VAM-16 Morgan dollar is designated O/O Line under classification III2 5, with reverse C3k. The obverse shows the second 8 set higher than the first 8 and the 3, with faint doubling at the bottom of the 1 and bottom inside of the 3's lower loop. The reverse is the primary attraction: a high, upright, tall oval O mintmark has been repunched, with the original placement surviving as a raised line through the center of the mintmark opening, curving left at the top. This line-through-the-O diagnostic is one of the more visually distinctive features found on New Orleans Morgan dollars. The same obverse die was used for VAM-1C1, establishing a die-sharing relationship. VAM-16 was once considered a duplicate of the former VAM-5, now delisted, but VAM-16 remains a valid active attribution. The 1883-O is plentiful among New Orleans Morgans, and the O/O Line reverse makes cherrypicking straightforward with a loupe on the mintmark.
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