1885-S VAM-7

Description

Discovered by Bill Deterline in July 1978, the 1885-S VAM-7 Morgan Dollar is classified as 7 III2 6 - C3a, a Double Date variety from the San Francisco Mint. The 1885-S had a mintage of 1,497,000 pieces — one of the lower-mintage San Francisco Morgan Dollar issues, making all varieties from this date-mint combination relatively scarce compared to the Philadelphia or New Orleans productions. Struck in 90% silver at 26.73 grams and 38.1 mm diameter, the Morgan Dollar bears George T. Morgan's designs that remained in production from 1878 through 1904 and again in 1921. The obverse die (III2 6) shows the entire date doubled slightly at the very top of all four digits, a characteristic that is best observed under 5-10x magnification with lighting angled from above to highlight the separation between the primary and secondary impressions. The reverse die (C3a) is notable because some specimens display a large die flake in the wreath leaves opposite the letters NI of UNITED — a progressive die deterioration feature. Die pair 187 is assigned. The emission sequence documents that specimens exhibiting this die flake were subsequently assigned the designation 1885-S VAM-7A in 2004, splitting the original VAM-7 population between examples with and without the die flake. The reverse emission sequence also references 1885-S VAM-2, suggesting a shared die lineage.

External References