1884-S VAM-3

Description

Discovered by Bill Fivaz — co-author of the Cherrypickers' Guide to Rare Die Varieties — in August 1974, the 1884-S VAM-3 Morgan Dollar is one of the earlier documented San Francisco VAM varieties. Classified III2 2 - C3c for Far Date, S/S Left, this variety combines a date positioned farther right than normal with a repunched S mintmark (RPM). The reverse (C3c) shows a Type IV S mintmark repunched with the original position showing as a short spike of metal at the top of the upper loop opening and a vertical spike at the left of the lower loop opening — vestiges of the first punch impression visible at the edges of the final mintmark. Repunched mintmarks on Morgan Dollars are among the most widely collected die varieties in the series because they were individually hand-applied, and the emission sequence records show this obverse die was used in sequence with die 3 and die 16, indicating die pair rotation during production. The 1884-S Morgan Dollar was struck at the San Francisco Mint from a relatively modest mintage of 3,200,000 coins — one of the lower S-mint production figures in the Morgan series — in 90% silver (10% copper) at 26.73 grams, 38.1 mm diameter with a reeded edge. Bill Fivaz's discovery of this variety in 1974 occurred during the formative years of the die variety hobby, and the VAM classification system itself was still being developed and refined during this period.

External References