Q. David Bowers
Variety collectors, on the other hand, absolutely love die aberratiolls on large coins, the larger the better. They're much more visible and as such, more collectible. Several "Of the early Draped Bust dollars varieties are well documented as to varieties such as repunched letters and overdates, and in the Liberty Seated dollar series there's a very interesting blundered date on a few surviving specimens of the Philadelphia issues from the next to last year, 1872. This variety shows the bottoms of other numbers in the base of the rock above the regular date, an occurrence that is seen on several other Liberty Seated denominations from 1850 through the early 1870s.
The 28 years of Morgan dollar production from 1878 through 1904 and 1921 gave the collector a plethora of interesting and valuable varieties, many of which are still being collected today. Morgan dollar varieties enjoyed their heyday in the 1960sand 1970s when Mint State dollars could He purchased for "sane" prices. Nice, collectible varieties on the 1878, 1880, 1880-O and 1880-S, 1887 and 1887-O and even many Carson City minted coins could be, found in Mint State condition for from $5.00 to $25.00, and avid "VAM-ites"-devotees of the Van Allen-Mallis variety listings-were delighting in finding and reporting not only these, but new varieties, many of which were quite significant.
However, and unfortunately, with the advent of the market explosion in the late 1970s and early 1980s, silver dollars led the way in advancing prices, and it wasn't long before VAM collecting, for the most part, was relegated to a handful of dedicated enthusiasts looking for only the most popular and rare varieties among the now pricey cartwheels.
Today there is a mini-renaissance of VAM collecting, thanks to the efforts of Californian Jeff Oxman, who founded the Society of Silver Dollar Collectors about five years ago.Through periodic newsletters, Jeff keeps the members apprised of new finds, reprises on existing popular varieties, and conducts mail auctions on both VAMs and "regular" dollars. These auctions have proven to be quite popular, and while prices, relatively speaking, are not what they were years ago, many of the more popular varieties bring good prices. Thanks is given to Jeff for reviewing this article and making valuable comments and confirmations. Those interested in more information on the S.S.D.C. may contact Jeff at P.O. Box 2132, Sepulveda, CA 91393. The advent of the new third edition of the Van Allen-Mallis book in autumn 1992, out of print for a decade, promises to increase interest as well.
The first year of the Morgan dollar, 1878, boasts one of the rarest varieties in the entire series. The 1878 7/8 [7/ Other] Tail Feathers VAM-44 has the same reverse die as the common VAM-33 with three extra tail feathers barely show-ing. The obverse die shows tripling in the cotton blossoms, leaves and hair on Liberty's head. Virtually all of the fewer than 20 specimens known are circulated, but each exhibits a prooflike surface on the obverse, confirmation that the mintage was very small and most found their way into circulation.
In the following year several reverse dies with the flat breast type of 1878 were used on some San Francisco strikings. 1879-S VAM 4 through 10, 35, etc. are seldom found, and most specimens are very heavily abraded, especially on the obverse. Finding one with' good lustre and a clean cheek is rare. This variety is currently listed in the Coin Dealer Newsletter.
There are three rare and very collectible overdate varieties from the Philadelphia Mint in 1880. The 8/7 VAM~6 is only scarce in the lower circulated grades, but it becomes very scarce in the EF / AU range up to very rare in Mint State. This is the most easily recognizable 1880 Philadelphia Mint overdate, with the two serifs of the 7 protruding well above the top of the second 8, and some metal fill inside that number's upper loop. As of this writing, there are fewer than 10 specimens reported in Mint State.
The second most visible of the three collectible overdates for this year and mint, the 8/7 VAM-7, has no evidence of the serifs of the 7 over the 8, but the horizontal bar of that number is plain at the top inside of the second 8's upper loop. It is considered extremely rare in any grade and unknown in Mint State.
The final overdate from the Philadelphia Mint for 1880 is the most difficult to see, and probably is missed in many cases. The two serifs of the 7 can barely be seen atop the second 8, and like the previous variety, it is extremely rare in any grade. No Mint State examples are known.
Note: Overdates exist on several 1880-O, S and CC coins, but most of these are fairly common and not as collectible as the three Philadelphia overdates. There are one or two exceptions, namely the 1880-O VAM-6B showing a spike ofthe 7's serif at the upper left of the second 8 and a short "hangnail" die gouge on the left-most tail feather on the reverse, and the 1880-S VAM-10 with a portion of the 7 still showing in the upper loop of the second 8.
The year 1882 saw at least six overmint mark dies utilized from the New Orleans Mint, with the 0 punched over various remnants of a previous S. While this variety is relatively common in grades up to and including AU, Mint State specimens generally command a significant premium as the majority of these overmint marked coins were released into circulation. The most collectible varieties are the V AM-3 (O/S flush) and the VAM"4 (O/S depressed), due primarily to the clarity of the S under the 0 on these two.
On a very few specimens (two obverse and two reverse dies) of the 1884 Philadelphia mintage, a raised dot appears immediately after Morgan's initial "M" on the obverse and reverse. The "M" on the obverse is located on the truncation of Liberty's bust, while the initial on the reverse may be found on the left loop of the bow below the eagle. One set of obverse/reverse dies exhibits a large raised dot, while the second set shows a smaller dot in the same position. No one has come up with a reason for these dots or periods, but it is felt that they were used to identify these dies for some reason.