1879-S VAM-5

Description

Originally cataloged as VAM-5 with the classification III2 1 - B2b (Broken R), this 1879-S Morgan Dollar variety is noted in the VAM reference as one that probably does not exist as a distinct die pair and likely became VAM-39 after an engraved wing feather was described on the same reverse die. The reverse is identified as a PAF (Parallel Arrow Feather) type B2 with a small III-s mint mark, and the defining diagnostic is a broken R in TRUST where the upper serif is partially missing. This note of elimination is itself significant in the VAM cataloging system — the Van Allen-Mallis reference has accumulated over 4,000 varieties since Leroy Van Allen and A. George Mallis published their first edition in 1971, and as research continues, some early listings are consolidated or reclassified when researchers determine that two VAMs share the same die pair. The 1879-S Morgan Dollar was struck at the San Francisco Mint during the early years of the Morgan Dollar series, following passage of the Bland-Allison Act of 1878 that mandated government purchases of silver for coinage. George T. Morgan's Liberty Head design was still in its first years of production, and reverse die varieties from this period are closely studied by VAM specialists tracking die pair combinations across all three active mints.

External References