1892-O VAM-9

Description

Discovered by Martin Field in September 1979, VAM-9 on the 1892-O Morgan Dollar carries the catalog designation III2 8 - C3e with an (181) interest level, documenting two concurrent die anomalies: a far slanted date with the numeral 1 positioned closer to the rim than normal, and an O/O Left mintmark repunching where the O shows doubling on the top left outside and top right inside. The obverse die (III2 8) produces a date set further right than the standard position with a noticeable slant — the numeral 1 tilts closer to the rim, creating a measurable displacement from the nominal date placement that distinguishes this die from others in the 1892-O population. The reverse die (C3e) carries the doubled O mintmark set high, with the secondary O impression visible at two positions: the top left outside of the letter and the top right inside, indicating the mintmark punch was applied twice with a leftward shift between impressions. The 1892-O Morgan Dollar was struck at the New Orleans Mint with a mintage of 2,744,000 — one of the lower-mintage O-mint dates in the series — making identified VAM varieties particularly valuable for die study and census purposes. Martin Field's 1979 discovery places this variety among the early wave of VAM attributions that built the foundation of Morgan Dollar die variety scholarship. The combination of an anomalous date position with a repunched mintmark creates a dual-diagnostic variety where both sides of the coin contribute independent variety markers, allowing attribution from either the obverse date slant or the reverse O/O repunching, with confirmation coming from the presence of both on a single specimen.

External References