1892-CC VAM-4

Description

Discovered by Tom Mason in January 1967, the 1892-CC VAM-4 "CC/CC Down" Morgan dollar documents a repunched mintmark on the reverse of George T. Morgan's silver dollar design where both C letters show secondary impressions displaced downward from the primary positions. Cataloged as 4 III2 1 · C3c (CC/CC Down) with die number 177, the Reverse C3c die exhibits the first C doubled at the top inside and the second C strongly doubled — indicating the mintmark punch was applied twice, with the second impression shifted downward relative to the first. The Carson City Mint struck only approximately 1.35 million Morgan dollars in 1892, its penultimate year of silver dollar production before the facility closed in 1893 and did not reopen for coinage until the brief 1893 CC quarter eagle run. This extremely low mintage makes the 1892-CC one of the genuinely scarce Morgan dollar dates, commanding substantial premiums across all grades. Carson City mintmarks were hand-punched into each working die individually, and the CC/CC Down classification indicates the die sinker's initial placement was adjusted, leaving both the original and corrected impressions visible on the finished die. The strong doubling on the second C provides the more prominent diagnostic, while the first C's doubling at the top inside is more subtle and requires careful inspection under magnification. Tom Mason's 1967 discovery places this among the earliest documented VAM attributions for the date, established during the formative years of systematic Morgan dollar die study. Collectors examining 1892-CC Morgan dollars for VAM-4 should focus on both C letters under 10-15x magnification, looking for the downward-displaced secondary impressions that distinguish this die from the normal CC positioning on other 1892-CC varieties.

External References