1879-S VAM-2

Description

Discovered by Richard Deters in October 1972, the VAM-2 designation for the 1879-S Morgan dollar identifies an open 9 date variety cataloged as 2 II2 2 C3a (Open 9) with a die pair rarity number of (185), rated I-2 R-3 in the Van Allen-Mallis rarity scale where I-2 indicates an interest level of moderate demand and R-3 denotes scarce availability. The obverse die, classified as III2 2, is a normal die of the type III2 with the open 9 date configuration matching the date style seen on several 1879-S VAM listings. The reverse die, C3a, is a normal die without additional distinguishing characteristics. The VAM reference commentary provides an important caveat: "VAM 1, 2 and 3 are very generic listings and should be more for die classification rather than actual die pair," suggesting that these low-numbered VAMs serve primarily as baseline categories for sorting 1879-S Morgans by die type before further refinement into more specific die marriages. The 1879-S Morgan dollar had a mintage of 9.11 million pieces at the San Francisco Mint, making it one of the more available dates in the early Morgan dollar series. George T. Morgan's design was in its second year, and the San Francisco facility was producing substantial quantities of silver dollars as mandated by the Bland-Allison Act of 1878. The open 9 date feature provides a primary sorting criterion visible at low magnification, and once an 1879-S is confirmed as having the open 9, collectors can proceed to examine finer die diagnostics to determine whether the specific die marriage matches VAM-2 or one of its companion open 9 listings.

External References