1904-O VAM-15

Description

Originally discovered by Martin Field in August 1979, VAM-15 was de-listed in 2010 when researchers determined it shared the same die pair as VAM-31 for the 1904 New Orleans Mint Morgan Dollar. Classified as III2 1 with a C4g reverse and catalog number 189, the variety features a high O mintmark tilted to the left on the reverse, with fine polishing lines visible on the eagle's tail feathers and wings, while the obverse presents a normal die with a closed 9 in the date. The de-listing history illustrates the self-correcting nature of the VAM attribution system — as more specimens are examined and die pair characteristics are compared, varieties initially thought to represent distinct die marriages are sometimes consolidated when they prove to share identical dies. The C4g reverse classification indicates a specific mintmark position: set high and slightly right with a slant to the left. New Orleans struck approximately 3.7 million Morgan Dollars in 1904, the final year of Morgan Dollar production at the historic Louisiana facility before the series was suspended and New Orleans shifted to other denominations. The 1904-O date would be the last New Orleans Morgan Dollar until the 1921 revival, making it a bookend date for the Mint's thirty-year participation in the series initiated by the Bland-Allison Act of 1878.

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