1895-S VAM-3
Error
Description
A Hot 50 Morgan VAM — among the fifty most desirable and actively pursued Morgan Dollar varieties by today's collector community — VAM-3 for the 1895-S Morgan Dollar shows a repunched S mintmark tilted right, with the original punch visible as a curved dash at the upper left, a short spike at the top of the upper loop, and a curved line in the opening of the lower loop, catalogued III1 1 C3c: S/S. Discovered by Bill Fivaz — co-author of the Cherrypickers Guide to United States Coins, the standard reference for early die variety attribution — in May 1974, VAM-3 shares the same obverse die as VAM-2 but represents a later die state. Reverse C3c shows the mintmark tilted to the right with the repunch positioned significantly to the right of the final impression. The 1895-S Morgan Dollar was struck in 90% silver at the San Francisco Mint under George T. Morgan's design. The Hot 50 designation, combined with the Fivaz discovery attribution, makes VAM-3 a prestige variety for Morgan Dollar set completionists.
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