1896-S VAM-4

Description

Attributed to Edwin Miller, who discovered it in January 1970, the 1896-S VAM-4 "Near Date" identifies a Morgan Dollar obverse die where the date was punched further left than the standard position, placing the numerals closer to the rim. Classified as III2-4 with reverse die C3a in the Van Allen-Mallis system, this variety reflects the inherent variability of hand-punched dates on nineteenth-century coinage dies. Each working die received its date digits individually, and the engraver's positioning varied slightly from die to die — sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes shifted laterally. The Near Date designation describes leftward displacement that narrows the gap between the first digit and the rim. San Francisco struck the 1896-S Morgan Dollar in 90% silver at the standard 38.1mm diameter, and the S mintmark on the reverse identifies the facility. Morgan's design had been in production since 1878, with Liberty wearing her cotton-and-wheat-wreathed Phrygian cap on the obverse and the heraldic eagle dominating the reverse. Collectors examining 1896-S dollars should compare the date position against known normal specimens to identify the leftward shift characteristic of VAM-4. =1896-S VAM-4 Near Date= Discovered by Edwin Miller, January 1970.

External References