1899-O VAM-10A

Description

Discovered by Phil Perdue in March 2005, the 1899-O VAM-10A is a 90% silver Morgan Dollar from the New Orleans Mint featuring die breaks in the left wreath on the reverse. Known examples show either one die break in early die state (EDS) or two breaks in late die state (LDS), documenting the progressive deterioration of the reverse die as production continued. An essential catalog clarification: VAM-10 is the early die state of VAM-10B, but NOT of VAM-10A — despite the similar numbering, VAM-10A uses a different die pair entirely. This distinction matters for attribution, as collectors might reasonably assume VAM-10A is simply a later state of VAM-10, when in fact the two varieties share neither obverse nor reverse dies. The progression of die breaks from one to two in VAM-10A's own die state sequence provides a self-contained study of die failure within a single marriage. Struck at 412.5 grains with George T. Morgan's design, the 1899-O was produced at the New Orleans Mint in substantial quantity. The VAM-10/10A/10B numbering illustrates the complexity of die marriage cataloging, where alphanumeric suffixes can denote either die states or distinct die pairs depending on context.

External References