1887-O VAM-14

Description

Francis Davis discovered this Morgan Dollar variety in October 1977, making it one of the earlier VAM attributions in the cataloging system's history. The 1887-O VAM-14 is classified as a Near and Low Date with the technical designation III2 13 - C3a and die pairing number 181. The obverse die (III2 13) shows the date set further left than normal, with the numeral 1 positioned close to the rim — a placement that resulted from the date punch being driven into the die slightly inward and downward from the standard position during die preparation at the New Orleans Mint. Date position varieties are among the most fundamental categories in Morgan Dollar VAM collecting, as the hand-punched date on each working die could vary in position, spacing, and tilt. The "near and low" designation combines two positional descriptors: the date is both closer to the rim horizontally and set lower vertically than the typical placement. The reverse classification C3a indicates a standard die pairing. New Orleans produced approximately 11.55 million Morgan Dollars in 1887, a substantial mintage that makes the date readily available in overall terms, though individual VAM varieties within any high-mintage date can range from common to extremely rare. Davis's 1977 discovery places VAM-14 among the formative entries in the New Orleans Morgan Dollar VAM catalog, documented during the early growth period of the Van Allen-Mallis classification system that has since expanded to encompass thousands of die varieties across the Morgan Dollar series.

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