1879-CC VAM-2
Error
Description
The 1879-CC Morgan Dollar VAM-2, designated Open 9, Doubled 8, CC Tilted Left, was discovered by Melvin Carmichael in August 1951 — one of the earliest recorded VAM attributions, predating the formal Van Allen-Mallis classification system that would systematize Morgan Dollar die variety research in subsequent decades. The date shows an open 9 (with the tail of the 9 not fully connecting to form a closed loop) and a slightly doubled 8. The CC mintmark is strongly tilted to the left, an orientation that has made this one of the more visually distinctive of the 1879-CC varieties. On some specimens, the bottom of the G in GOD appears partially filled, a die fill characteristic that varies across the population. The 1879-CC Morgan Dollar is a 90% silver coin struck at the Carson City Mint, a facility whose issues command consistent collector premiums for their frontier-era historical associations. VAM-2's early discovery date places it among the foundational attributions of the Carson City Morgan Dollar series.
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