1904-O VAM-9

Description

Originally discovered by Leonard Hinckley in February 1974, this 1904-O Morgan Dollar was cataloged as VAM-9 with die marriage III2 6, reverse C4d. The variety features a closed 9 in the date and the date set lower than normal, with the O mint mark positioned to the right and tilted left. However, VAM-9 was delisted in 2010 after researchers determined it represents the same die marriage as VAM-31 in a late die state, where the tripled ear lobe characteristic of VAM-31 had worn away from extended die use. This is a common outcome in VAM research — features that appear on an early die state may disappear as the die wears, leading different researchers to catalog what is actually the same die pair under separate numbers before the connection is recognized. The 1904-O was the final New Orleans Mint Morgan Dollar of the original production run, struck before the series was suspended in 1905. Millions of 1904-O dollars were stored in Treasury vaults and later released in the 1960s, providing collectors with abundant uncirculated material. The delisting of VAM-9 in favor of VAM-31 reflects the self-correcting nature of the VAM cataloging system.

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