1897-O VAM-1

Description

Serving as the baseline Normal Die entry for the 1897-O Morgan dollar, VAM-1 documents the standard die marriage configuration against which all other 1897-O die varieties are measured. Cataloged as 1 III2 1 (Normal Die) (181), this variety pairs an Obverse III2 1 — the standard obverse die type designated III2 — with a Reverse C3a featuring a medium III O mintmark centered and upright. George T. Morgan's silver dollar design, introduced in 1878 after years of development using Philadelphia schoolteacher Anna Willess Williams as the Liberty model, presents the iconic left-facing Liberty portrait crowned with wheat and cotton on the obverse and a heraldic eagle with spread wings clutching arrows and an olive branch on the reverse. New Orleans struck approximately 4.0 million Morgan dollars in 1897, a modest mintage that places this date among the scarcer O-mint issues of the 1890s. The designation "Normal Die" does not diminish the coin's numismatic significance — rather, it establishes the reference standard that defines normal die characteristics for the date, enabling precise identification of anomalies on other VAM numbers. The reverse C3a classification identifies the specific reverse die type, with the "medium III O" notation describing the mint mark style: a medium-sized O punch of the III design type, centered between the wreath ties and oriented vertically. DPIS (Die Pair Identification System) data and emission sequence information for both dies remain unlisted, awaiting further documentation from the VAM research community. For collectors assembling complete VAM sets by date, the VAM-1 Normal Die serves as the foundation piece that anchors the collection.

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