1921-D VAM-1BJ

Description

Discovered by Rob Joyce in March 2005, the 1921-D VAM-1BJ identifies diagonal die gouges positioned below the first L in DOLLAR and between the letters OL on the reverse of this Denver Mint Morgan Dollar. Cataloged as IV 1 D2a (Die Gouges OL) with die pairing number 189, the reverse die designated D2a carries these distinctive gouges that serve as the primary attribution markers. An important note for 1921 Morgan Dollars is that dates were part of the master die rather than individually punched, so there is no variation in date position across different die pairs — a fundamental change from pre-1921 production practice that simplifies obverse attribution but eliminates repunched date varieties. The 1921-D Morgan Dollar represents the final year of the series and the only Denver Mint Morgan Dollar, as the design was replaced by the Peace Dollar later that year. Denver struck approximately 20.3 million Morgan Dollars in 1921, the highest Denver Morgan Dollar mintage by default as the sole year of production, using dies shipped from Philadelphia with the date already incorporated into the master die design. Die gouges like those on VAM-1BJ typically result from foreign material striking the die face or from damage during die handling and installation in the coining press.

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