1904-O VAM-8

Description

Discovered by Leonard Hinckley in February 1974, VAM-8 of the 1904-O Morgan dollar is distinguished by its "Far Date" obverse characteristic — the date numerals are positioned further to the right than normal, creating a wider gap between the truncation of Liberty's neck and the first digit. Cataloged as III2 5 - C4a under the Van Allen-Mallis system, this variety features a closed 9 in the date, an additional diagnostic that narrows identification even before measuring the date position. The New Orleans Mint produced 3.72 million Morgan dollars in 1904, its penultimate year of operations before the facility closed in 1909 — making 1904-O issues among the final New Orleans Morgan dollars before the mint's brief 1921 reopening for the series' swan song. George T. Morgan's Liberty Head design had been the nation's silver dollar standard since 1878, and by 1904 the dies had been refined through decades of production. The far date position results from the date being punched into the working die at a different lateral placement than the standard die, creating a measurable deviation that collectors can confirm with overlay comparisons. VAM-8 was one of the earlier 1904-O varieties cataloged, identified during the foundational period of VAM research in the 1970s when Hinckley and other pioneers were systematically documenting date position variations. Collectors should look for the rightward date shift and the closed loop on the 9 as the primary attribution points.

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