1900-O VAM-16A

Description

Crae Morton's March 2007 discovery of this 1900 New Orleans Morgan Dollar VAM-16A identified a variety combining a doubled 1 in the date, a tilted-right O mintmark, and a heavy die gouge between the eagle's left wing and neck. The digit 1 shows slight doubling at the bottom of its upper crossbar, where a secondary impression extends the horizontal element with a faint displaced line. The O mintmark tilts rightward from vertical, indicating the mintmark punch was applied at an angle during die preparation. The heavy die gouge between wing and neck — a deep incised mark in the die — transfers as a prominent raised line in a highly visible location on the reverse eagle. Catalog notes suggest VAM-16A likely used a different die pair than VAM-16, distinguishing it as an independent variety rather than a die state of its predecessor. The New Orleans Mint struck 12,590,000 Morgan Dollars in 1900, the facility's penultimate decade before its 1909 closure. Morton's identification relies on the convergence of three distinct diagnostics — doubled date digit, tilted mintmark, and wing-neck gouge — each from a different attribution category. =1900-O VAM-16A Doubled 1, O Tilted Right, Die Gouge Wing-Neck= Discovered by Crae Morton, March 2007.

External References