1921-D VAM-1AS

Description

Discovered by John Kohut in April 2004, the 1921-D VAM-1AS Morgan Dollar is classified as IV 1 · D2a (Die Breaks 3rd Left Star and 92) with die pairing number 189. The obverse (IV 1) exhibits die cracks running through the bottom of the date and all right stars and left stars 1 through 4, culminating in a die break on the lower right point of the third left star and die breaks at the bottom of the digits 92 — an extensive network of structural failures spanning most of the obverse periphery. The Die Pair Identification System (DPIS) notes that in 1921 dates were part of the master die, eliminating variation in date position — meaning all 1921 Morgan Dollars share identical date placement, and any doubling or anomalies in the date must have originated at the master die or hub level rather than from individual working die punch placement. This master-die dating system distinguishes 1921 varieties from earlier Morgan Dollar dates where individual date punches were applied separately to each working die. The 1921-D Morgan Dollar was struck at the Denver Mint in the final year of Morgan Dollar production before the series yielded to the Peace Dollar later that year, composed of 90% silver at 26.73 grams with a 38.1 mm diameter. George T. Morgan's design had been in production since 1878. The extensive die crack network connecting stars, date, and peripheral elements documents severe progressive die failure — the cracks likely propagated from the outermost design elements inward, as the stars and date digits at the rim experienced the highest striking forces and most concentrated stress, making them the initiation points for the fracture system that eventually compromised most of the obverse die's structural integrity.

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