1885-CC VAM-4

Description

Discovered by CoinWorld in May 1975, the 1885-CC VAM-4 Morgan Dollar holds the distinguished designation of a Hot 50 Morgan VAM — a ranking reserved for the fifty most significant and actively collected varieties in the entire Morgan Dollar VAM catalog. Classified as III2 3 - C3a (Thick Dash Under 8), the obverse (III2 3) features one of the largest dashes known in the Morgan series: a thick dash positioned under and touching the second 8 in the date, accompanied by die chips at the bottom inside of the lower loop of the 8, with the bottom of the dash itself faintly doubled. The thick dash is a die defect — a raised linear element on the coin caused by a gouge or crack in the die face — and its exceptional size relative to other known dashes makes this variety visually striking and immediately identifiable. The reverse (C3a) shows die chips within both CC mintmark letters, providing additional confirmation diagnostics for attribution. The 1885-CC Morgan Dollar was struck at the Carson City Mint in Nevada, the westernmost and most romantically associated of the Morgan Dollar mint facilities. Carson City Morgans carry a consistent premium due to their association with the Comstock Lode silver mining era and generally lower mintages. Composed of 90% silver at 26.73 grams with a 38.1 mm diameter, the 1885-CC had a mintage of approximately 228,000 pieces — already a scarce date before variety considerations. George T. Morgan designed the Liberty head obverse and heraldic eagle reverse. The Hot 50 designation combined with the low-mintage Carson City origin creates strong collector demand across all grades, making the VAM-4 one of the most sought-after CC Morgan Dollar varieties.

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