1897-S VAM-8
Error
Description
Discovered by Martin Field in December 1980, the 1897-S VAM-8 "S Set High" earned inclusion in the Hot 50 catalog — a curated list of Morgan Dollar VAMs deemed most significant by the variety collecting community. Classified as III2-1 with reverse die C3c under the Van Allen-Mallis system, this variety's defining characteristic is an S mintmark set slightly higher than standard on the reverse below the wreath. Mintmark placement varied because individual letter punches were hand-applied to each die, and vertical positioning was subject to human judgment. The catalog reference number (190) places it within the Hot 50 framework. Emission sequence data — Obverse: 20, 8 — maps this die's position within San Francisco's production order. George T. Morgan's silver dollar, featuring Liberty in a cotton-and-wheat-wreathed Phrygian cap on the obverse and the heraldic eagle on the reverse, was in its twentieth year of production. Struck in 90% silver at 38.1mm. Examine the S mintmark below the wreath for the elevated position that defines this Hot 50 variety.
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