1888-O VAM-8

Description

Discovered by Steve Weber in April 1998, the 1888-O VAM-8 "O Set Very High" Morgan dollar identifies a reverse die where the O mintmark is positioned exceptionally high and to the right beneath the eagle's tail feathers, nearly touching the lower wreath leaves. Cataloged as 8 III2 1 - C3d (O Set Very High) with die alignment at 181 degrees, this variety documents an extreme mintmark placement on George T. Morgan's silver dollar struck at New Orleans. The hand-punching process used to apply mintmarks to individual working dies generated natural variation in position, angle, and depth — but the "very high right" designation for VAM-8 indicates a placement outside the normal range, where the top of the O mintmark approaches contact with the wreath detail above. New Orleans struck approximately 12.15 million Morgan dollars in 1888, a healthy production run that generated multiple die pairs with varying mintmark characteristics. The Reverse C3d classification distinguishes this reverse die type by its extremely elevated mintmark position, while the Obverse III2 1 pairing indicates a standard obverse die of the III2 type. Steve Weber's April 1998 discovery expanded the 1888-O VAM catalog during a period of active research into New Orleans Mint mintmark position varieties, a fertile area of study because the New Orleans facility's die preparation practices produced particularly wide variation in mintmark placement compared to Philadelphia and San Francisco. Emission sequence data for both dies remains undocumented. Collectors can identify VAM-8 by examining the mintmark position relative to the eagle's tail feathers and wreath at low magnification — the unusually high rightward placement should be apparent at 5-7x before confirming with higher magnification against reference images showing the typical O mintmark position for 1888.

External References