1897-O VAM-2

Description

Discovered by George Mallis in July 1964, the 1897-O VAM-2 features an O mint mark that is set slightly high and tilted to the right — a positional variety resulting from the manual placement of the mint mark punch into the working die. The obverse uses a Type III2 die 1, while the reverse is classified as C3b, with the "b" suffix distinguishing this reverse die from the standard C3a configuration specifically because of the tilted mint mark placement. During the Morgan Dollar production era, mint marks were individually hand-punched into each working die, and variations in the angle, depth, and position of these punches created the mint mark positional varieties that form a significant subset of VAM collecting. A rightward tilt indicates the punch was rotated slightly clockwise from vertical when it was pressed into the die steel. George Mallis's discovery of this variety in 1964 predates the formal publication of the Van Allen-Mallis reference, representing the foundational research period when the cataloging system was being developed. The 1897-O Morgan Dollar was produced at the New Orleans Mint during the later years of Morgan Dollar production, and mint mark position varieties from this facility are extensively documented due to the hand-punching methods that persisted throughout the series.

External References