1889-S VAM-6A

Description

Discovered in December 2009 by Raymond Roberts, the 1889-S VAM-6A presents a doubled 9 in the date, a very far date position, and polished arrow heads on the reverse — the latter feature documenting Mint die maintenance that left heavy vertical polishing lines around the arrow heads in the eagle's talons. Cataloged as III24 - C3a (Doubled 9, Very Far Date, Polished Arrow Heads) in the Van Allen-Mallis system, this variety combines multiple diagnostic features across both obverse and reverse dies. The doubled 9 results from misalignment during the hand-punching of the date logotype into the obverse die, while the "very far date" describes an overall lateral positioning that places the date further from its typical location. The reverse polishing lines around the arrow heads indicate that the die was refinished during its service life, likely to remove clash marks or other surface defects — a common Mint practice that could leave distinctive polishing patterns as permanent die characteristics. The 1889-S Morgan Dollar was struck at the San Francisco Mint with a mintage of approximately 700,000 pieces, making it one of the scarcer regular-issue dates in the Morgan series. San Francisco Morgan Dollars from the late 1880s are widely pursued by collectors, and the combination of low mintage with multiple diagnostic features makes VAM-6A a noteworthy variety. The "A" suffix distinguishes this die state from the base VAM-6, documenting the specific progression of die characteristics visible on this particular state.

External References