1892-S VAM-4

Description

Discovered by Martin Field in March 1979, VAM-4 identifies an S mint mark that is centered but tilted slightly to the right on the 1892-S Morgan Dollar reverse. Classified as III2 1 - C3b with a Type IV S punch, this variety documents one of the hand-punched mint mark position variants that characterize Morgan Dollar production at the San Francisco Mint. During this era, mint marks were individually punched into each working die by hand, and the angle of the punch varied with each application. The 1892-S Morgan Dollar was struck with a mintage of just over 1.2 million — a relatively modest output that places it among the lower-mintage San Francisco issues in the series. Mint mark tilt varieties are among the most fundamental VAM categories, as they document the inherent variability of the hand-punching process that was standard practice until mint marks were incorporated into master dies in the twentieth century. The rightward tilt distinguishes this die from the centered-upright S used on other 1892-S die marriages.

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