1900-O VAM-3

Description

Discovered by George Mallis in July 1964 — co-founder of the VAM classification system and one of the earliest systematic researchers of Morgan dollar die varieties — the 1900-O VAM-3 "Near Date, O Tilted Right" combines two obverse and reverse diagnostics on this New Orleans issue. Cataloged as 3 III2 5 · C3b (Near Date, O Tilted Right), the obverse features a date set further left than normal while the reverse carries an O mintmark that tilts noticeably to the right of vertical. New Orleans struck approximately 12.59 million Morgan dollars in 1900, continuing the robust production that characterized the facility's final years before it ceased minting operations in 1909. The near date positioning — where the 1900 numerals sit closer to Liberty's bust than typical — resulted from the hand-punching process: when a mint worker placed the individual date punches further left than usual, the completed date appeared nearer to the portrait. The tilted O mintmark on the reverse represents an independent diagnostic created by a separate hand-punching operation, since mintmarks were individually punched into each reverse working die at the branch mint. The rightward tilt indicates the mint worker held the O punch at a slight angle when driving it into the die steel, freezing that orientation into every coin subsequently struck from that reverse die. George Mallis's July 1964 discovery date places this among the earliest documented VAM varieties, predating the formal publication of the Van Allen-Mallis catalog. Collectors can identify this variety by first noting the leftward date shift on the obverse, then checking the reverse mintmark under 10x magnification for the rightward lean — the two diagnostics together uniquely identify this die marriage.

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