1904-S VAM-1

Description

Cataloged as VAM-1 for the 1904-S Morgan dollar, this "Normal Die" entry establishes the baseline die pairing against which all other 1904-S varieties are measured. The catalog notation 1 III2 1 - C4a (Normal Die) identifies an Obverse III2 1 — a normal die of the III2 type featuring a closed 9 in the date — paired with a Reverse C4a characterized by a large V-shaped S mintmark that is centered and upright beneath the eagle's tail feathers. George T. Morgan's silver dollar design was struck in relatively limited quantities at San Francisco in 1904, with a mintage of only approximately 2.30 million coins — making the 1904-S one of the lower-production dates in the series and a coin that commands consistent premiums. The closed 9 obverse characteristic refers to the complete closure of the numeral 9's loop, distinguishing this punch style from open 9 variants found on other Morgan dollar dates where the loop terminates before completing the circuit. The large V S mintmark description notes both the size category and the overall shape profile of the San Francisco mintmark, which was hand-punched into each working die and naturally varied in size, tilt, and vertical position. The C4 reverse type represents one of the later reverse hub iterations in the Morgan dollar series, used during the final years of regular production before the series ended in 1904 (resumed briefly in 1921). Normal die VAMs serve a critical cataloging function by documenting the standard die characteristics for a date-mint combination, providing the reference baseline that variety researchers use to identify anomalous features on other die pairs. Emission sequence data for both dies remains undocumented, and no production chronology has been established for this particular die marriage.

External References