1896-O VAM-14

Description

Discovered by Leroy Van Allen in January 1980 — Van Allen being the 'V' in the VAM classification system he co-created with A. George Mallis — this 1896-O Morgan Dollar exhibits three attributable features: the date is positioned further left than normal (designated Near Date), the 6 in the date shows slight doubling on top, and the O mint mark is tilted to the right. Near Date positioning indicates that the date logotype was punched into the obverse die at a location shifted leftward from the standard placement, a variation that occurred when the die sinker's punch placement deviated during the hand-applied date entry process. The doubled 6 adds a secondary diagnostic on the date itself, while the tilted O mint mark on the reverse provides a third independent confirmation point. Van Allen's personal discovery of this variety carries particular significance within the Morgan Dollar collecting community — when the architect of the classification system identifies a new variety, it carries an implicit endorsement of the attribution's validity. The 1896-O New Orleans Mint Morgan Dollar had a mintage of approximately 4.9 million, a moderate production figure for the series.

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