1903-O VAM-7

Description

Cataloged by Leroy Van Allen in December 1979, the 1903-O VAM-7 Morgan Dollar carries die marriage III2 4, reverse C4d, and is classified as an almost Near Date variety with a high, centered, and upright O mint mark. The date is set further left than normal, and while it falls within the technical parameters for a normal date position, it comes close to qualifying as a Near Date — a distinction that matters significantly in Morgan Dollar variety attribution. Leroy Van Allen, who co-created the VAM classification system alongside A. George Mallis in 1971, personally discovered this die pair. The 1903-O is one of the most important key dates in the entire Morgan Dollar series, with a relatively modest mintage of 4.45 million compared to other New Orleans issues. High-grade examples command substantial premiums, and even circulated specimens are valued by collectors. The combination of key-date status and a Van Allen-attributed variety makes VAM-7 particularly noteworthy. The New Orleans Mint was in its final years of operation when this coin was struck, producing its last Morgan Dollars in 1904 before the series was briefly discontinued. =1903-O VAM-7 (Almost) Near Date, High O= Discovered by Leroy Van Allen, December 1979.

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