1884-S VAM-12

Description

Discovered in 2015 by Brent Fogelberg, VAM-12 for the 1884-S Morgan Dollar is classified as III2 2 - C3b (Far Date, S Tilted Right) and documents a die pair where the date sits further right than normal and the S mint mark tilts slightly to the right of its standard orientation. The obverse die marker is a heavy diagonal polishing line at the top of the T in LIBERTY — a distinctive feature left by the die preparation process when polishing was applied to extend the die's life or remove surface imperfections. The DPIS (Die Pair Information System) classification is RE3/LH5, and the emission sequence notes this obverse die was also used for VAM-20, indicating the same obverse was paired with at least two different reverse dies during its service life. The 1884-S Morgan Dollar is one of the key dates in the series, with a relatively low mintage of approximately 3.2 million pieces at the San Francisco Mint — far below the production levels at Philadelphia and New Orleans that year. The combination of a tilted S mint mark (hand-punched at Philadelphia before the die was shipped to San Francisco) and far date positioning documents the human variability inherent in 19th-century die preparation. Brent Fogelberg's 2015 discovery of this die pair adds to the growing catalog of 1884-S varieties that continue to emerge over 130 years after the coins were struck.

External References