1878-CC VAM-12

Description

Discovered by Leroy Van Allen in June 1972, VAM-12 documents a very widely spaced CC mintmark on the 1878 Carson City Morgan Dollar — the inaugural year of Morgan Dollar production. Classified as II3 with the B2e reverse, the obverse die shows a broken point on Star 4 at the right, while the reverse carries a short arrow shaft and the distinctively wide CC mintmark spacing that gives this variety its name. The very wide spacing between the two C's of the Carson City mintmark creates a visual presentation notably different from the standard tight CC placement, making this one of the more easily recognized 1878-CC varieties. Carson City struck approximately 2.21 million Morgan Dollars in 1878, operating under the newly passed Bland-Allison Act from its facility in Nevada — close to the Comstock Lode silver mines that supplied much of the bullion. The catalog notes this variety as unlocated and unplated in any edition of the VAM reference book, with the closest match being VAM-7 — a notation that underscores the evolving nature of VAM classification where some early discoveries remain incompletely documented. First-year Carson City Morgan Dollars with distinctive mintmark characteristics command strong collector interest due to both the historical significance of the CC mint and the visual appeal of unusual mintmark placement.

External References