1896-O VAM-3

Description

Another George Mallis discovery from June 1965 — the same prolific month that yielded the companion VAM-2 — the 1896-O VAM-3 documents the opposite mintmark orientation: where VAM-2 shows the O tilted left, VAM-3 presents a medium O mintmark tilted slightly to the right. Classified as III2 1 with reverse die C3c, this variety complements VAM-2 in illustrating the range of mintmark orientations produced by hand-punching. The two tilted-O varieties on the 1896-O issue, discovered simultaneously by VAM system co-creator Mallis, demonstrate the variability inherent in the mintmark application process — a single Mint employee punching O mintmarks into multiple working dies inevitably produced different angles on different dies. The C3c reverse die designation distinguishes this from the C3b used for VAM-2, confirming these are truly separate die marriages rather than different attributions of the same die pair. New Orleans Morgan Dollars carry particular collector interest because the branch mint's historical character and sometimes lower mintages add provenance value. George T. Morgan's Liberty Head obverse is paired with the heraldic eagle reverse, struck in 90% silver at 38.1mm and 26.73 grams. Compare this rightward-tilted O with the leftward-tilted VAM-2 — both Mallis discoveries from the same 1896 New Orleans coinage. =1896-O VAM-3 O Tilted Right= Discovered by George Mallis, June 1965.

External References