1898-O VAM-9

Description

Leonard Hinckley's February 1974 discovery of VAM-9 on the 1898-O Morgan Dollar established one of the earlier-documented die marriages for this New Orleans Mint date. Cataloged as III2 5 C3a with Near Date and Doubled Second 8 attributes under classification number 181, the obverse places the date in a near position — closer to the rim than normal — though not as extreme as the positioning found on VAMs 6, 7, or 8 for the same date. The second 8 in the date shows slight doubling at the top left outside of the upper loop and at the top inside of the lower loop, a subtle diagnostic that requires magnification to confirm but provides unmistakable attribution once identified. New Orleans struck 4,440,000 Morgan Dollars in 1898, continuing the facility's long tenure as a secondary production center for the silver dollar denomination that it had been manufacturing since the Bland-Allison Act took effect in 1878. Hinckley's discovery in 1974 coincided with the early growth period of Morgan Dollar VAM collecting, when Leroy Van Allen and A. George Mallis were building the systematic catalog that would eventually document hundreds of die marriages per date. The near date positioning, combined with the doubled second 8, provides two independent obverse diagnostics that together distinguish VAM-9 from other 1898-O die marriages sharing similar but not identical date positions. O-mint Morgan Dollars carry the historical cachet of the New Orleans Mint, which would close permanently in 1909, and VAM varieties from this facility attract dedicated collectors who pursue the full range of Southern-produced die marriages.

External References