1886-O VAM-16

Description

Classified as 16 III21 C3g and designated "O/O Right," this 1886-O Morgan Dollar variety was discovered by Jeff Oxman in December 1997. The reverse displays a repunched O mintmark with the original impression showing as a thin arc at the lower right outside of the final mintmark position. The centered mintmark tilts slightly to the right, and the residual arc from the first punch provides the diagnostic separating VAM-16 from other 1886-O repunched mintmark varieties. The 1886-O is recognized as one of the scarcer Morgan Dollar dates — New Orleans production was modest compared to Philadelphia and Carson City, and surviving populations in higher grades are limited. This date-level scarcity amplifies interest in individual die varieties, as each attributed VAM represents a distinct die pairing within an already constrained population. Jeff Oxman's discovery added this variety during a period of active expansion in Morgan Dollar VAM research, when improved imaging and growing collector networks facilitated identification of subtler repunched mintmarks that earlier researchers had overlooked.

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