1921-D VAM-1

Description

Serving as the baseline normal die designation for the Denver Mint's 1921 Morgan Dollar production, the VAM-1 is classified as 1 IV 1 - D2a. The Type IV obverse represents the final iteration of the Morgan Dollar design, and both numerals 1 in the date are doubled at the top left, a feature inherent to the master die rather than individual working dies. Because 1921 dates were part of the master die, there is no variation in date position across different die pairs — a significant departure from earlier Morgan Dollar production where dates were hand-punched into individual dies. The D2a reverse designation identifies the standard Denver reverse type. Multiple die pairs exist with the D2a reverse, and importantly, every variety listed with the D2a reverse that shows die breaks in an early state is effectively a VAM-1 before the breaks developed. The 1921-D Morgan Dollar holds special historical significance as part of the brief resumption of Morgan Dollar coinage after the 1918 Pittman Act melted millions of silver dollars, making even the common VAM-1 a coin with a compelling backstory. Comments: *Multiple Die Pairs exist, for every variety with the D2A reverse that is listed with breaks the early die state is a VAM-1 DPIS – In 1921 dates were part of the master die so there is no variation in position.

External References