1891-S VAM-26

Description

Discovered by Brent Fogelberg in December 2024, the 1891-S VAM-26 is a recently cataloged doubled-hair variety on the San Francisco Mint Morgan Dollar designed by George T. Morgan. Classified as III2 18 - C3m and titled "Doubled Hair Edges," this variety documents doubling on Liberty's hair detail from a hub doubling event during die manufacture. The reverse carries an S mintmark centered and upright, positioned slightly high within the normal range — a subtle placement variation that helps distinguish this die from other 1891-S reverse dies. Die markers include lines in the wing-neck gap and the wreath bow, providing reliable secondary diagnostics for attribution. The DPIS reference of C3/B45 places it within the Die Progression Identification System framework. Emission sequence data links this obverse die to VAM-25 and VAM-26, indicating the same obverse was used across at least two die pairings. As one of the most recently discovered additions to the 1891-S VAM roster, this variety demonstrates that the Morgan Dollar catalog continues to expand more than a century after the coins were struck, rewarding cherrypickers who examine coins previously considered fully cataloged.

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