1881-S VAM-34

Description

Discovered by Martin Field in September 1980, the 1881-S VAM-34 Morgan Dollar is defined by doubled 188 in the date combined with an S/S Far Left repunched mintmark. The first three date digits carry overlapping secondary impressions from hub displacement, while the final digit appears unaffected. The S/S Far Left mintmark shows the second punch landing substantially to the left of the initial impression, creating widely separated overlapping images that make detection relatively straightforward. A significant duplicate alert accompanies this entry: the same die pair has been called VAM-13, VAM-15, and VAM-34 at various points, meaning researchers are evaluating whether these three designations describe identical dies at different states or genuinely separate combinations. Such duplication occasionally occurs when independent researchers catalog the same die pair without recognizing previous documentation. San Francisco struck Morgan Dollars prolifically in 1881, and Field's 1980 discovery contributed to the early growth of the VAM catalog when systematic variety research was still developing its cross-referencing protocols.

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