1889-O VAM-3

Description

Discovered by George Mallis in June 1965 and revised in 2009, the 1889-O VAM-3 Morgan Dollar carries the classification III2 8 · C3c (Far Date, O/O Top Left) with die pairing number 181. The obverse (III2 8) presents die chips between the loops of the second 8 on the right side — deterioration markers within the fine detail of the date digit that serve as attribution aids. The reverse (C3c) features the variety's most diagnostic element: a centered circular medium O mintmark that is doubled at the top left, creating the "O/O Top Left" designation. This O-over-O repunched mintmark resulted from the New Orleans mintmark punch being applied twice, with the second impression shifted slightly to the top left of the initial placement. Since each working die received its mintmark individually through hand punching, repunched mintmark varieties on New Orleans Morgans represent unique die-by-die events. An important production note records that this variety occurs with a rotated reverse ranging from 23 to 73 degrees clockwise — a substantial rotation range indicating that the reverse die was not consistently aligned in the coining press, producing specimens with varying degrees of die rotation that collectors can document across the known population. George T. Morgan designed this silver dollar with Liberty in a Phrygian cap on the obverse and a heraldic eagle on the reverse. Struck at the New Orleans Mint in 1889 in 90% silver at 26.73 grams with a 38.1 mm diameter, the 1889-O had a mintage of approximately 11.9 million pieces. The combination of far date positioning, doubled mintmark, and variable die rotation provides multiple dimensions of variety attribution for this well-documented die marriage.

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