1899-S VAM-8

Description

Leonard Hinckley's February 1974 discovery, VAM-8 on the 1899-S Morgan Dollar, bears the formal classification 8 II2 4 paired with reverse die C3b and the descriptive title "Doubled 9, Wide S." On the obverse die II2 4, the first 9 in the date exhibits doubling that manifests as a thin, broken, and curved line visible on the right inside of the lower loop — a remnant of the initial hub impression that was not fully overwritten when the die received its final hubbing pass, leaving a ghost outline that traces the interior contour of the digit's lower bowl. This secondary line is best observed under 7x to 10x magnification with directional lighting angled from the upper left, which casts a shadow into the shallow channel of the remnant impression and separates it visually from the primary strike profile of the 9. The reverse die C3b features a wide, large S mintmark that is centered between the wreath bow and the eagle's tail feathers — a distinctly broader punch than the narrow or tilted S variants found on other 1899-S die marriages, making mintmark width the fastest attribution checkpoint on the reverse. A critical cross-reference establishes that this reverse die was shared with 1899-S VAM-2, confirming that the San Francisco Mint rotated this particular reverse die through at least two obverse die pairings during the 1899 production run. Struck in 90% silver at 26.73 grams at the San Francisco Mint, the 1899-S had a mintage of approximately 2.56 million pieces — a relatively modest production figure that makes all VAM varieties from this date conditionally scarce compared to higher-mintage Philadelphia issues of the same era.

External References