1884-O VAM-17
Error
Description
Discovered by Bill Fivaz in May 1974, VAM-17 of the 1884-O Morgan Dollar is classified as 17 III2 1 - C3l and designated "O/O Far Left." The defining feature is a repunched O mintmark with the original impression showing as a curved bar visible in the middle and right side of the opening, along with a thin space on the left side. This displacement — the original O positioned far to the left of the final placement — gives the variety its "Far Left" descriptor. Bill Fivaz is co-author of the Cherrypickers' Guide to Rare Die Varieties, one of the most widely used variety references in American numismatics, and his discovery of VAM-17 during the formative years of VAM collecting lent early credibility to the cataloging effort. Repunched mintmarks on Morgan Dollars result from the hand-punching process used throughout the series (1878-1921), where each die received its mintmark individually from a small steel letter punch struck with a mallet. Any misalignment between impressions created the overlapping images that collectors now seek.
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