1897-O VAM-4

Description

Leonard Hinckley's February 1974 discovery of the 1897-O VAM-4 Morgan Dollar identified a variety defined by doubled digits 1, 8, and 7 combined with two positioning characteristics: a near date set further left than normal and a high O mintmark tilted to the right. The leftward date shift means the logotype punch was placed closer to the rim than standard, compressing the space between digits and denticles — a diagnostic readily visible without high magnification. Hinckley's early discovery date places this among the foundational VAM attributions for the 1897-O series, cataloged during the initial wave of Morgan Dollar variety research that Leroy Van Allen and A. George Mallis pioneered. Later die state specimens develop a crack in the lower hair of Liberty's portrait, a progressive structural failure that provides additional staging markers for advanced collectors. The New Orleans Mint produced 4,004,000 Morgan Dollars in 1897, a relatively modest mintage that makes documented varieties proportionally scarcer than their Philadelphia counterparts. =1897-O VAM-4 Doubled 18-7, Near Date, High O Tilted Right= Discovered by Leonard Hinckley, February 1974.

External References