1921 Morgan Zerbe Special Strike

Farran Zerbe was a noted numismatist, President of the ANA and the driving force behind the creation of the Peace dollar. It is said that as compensation for not having Peace dollars minted and ready for the ANA convention in the summer of 1921, the US Mint struck a series of "Proofs" of the 1921 Morgan dollar specifically for Zerbe. No official Morgan Proofs were minted that year, so no Proof dies were created. One set of 1921 Morgan dies was specially polished, and Zerbe's coins were all struck from this one pair. Most of the Zerbe Proofs currently extant have mirrored surfaces, but are not up to the normal Proof standard. Nobody knows for sure how many Zerbe Proofs were struck; estimates range up to 200.

After striking these Proofs, the die pair entered regular circulation striking duties. This specific die pair is the only die pair which gets the "Zerbe Dies" recognition, and is known as VAM-47 for that year. Here's the example which passed thru my collection, graded MS63 Prooflike by NGC:

I got $500 for that puppy. You weren't the only one who thought that way.

There is currently some churning going on with regard to the Zerbe dies; Ashe Ashmore examined a couple of Zerbes and found them to be VAM-1AG which is distinct from VAM-47. So, it appears that two different die pairs were used to strike the Zerbe coins. I've not owned a VAM-1AG and have no imagery. Here's some detail pics from my 47, please forgive some of the quality as my imaging skills were in their infancy back then:

Lines around U:









Obverse stars:







Left wing - body intersection:





Scribbles:





Bow:






Misc:



I have two rather brutally-large scans of the slabbed product which I'll email you, full size.

Disabuse yourself of the term "so-called Zerbe dies." That's a term used only by SEGS, who have chosen to call every D1 Morgan by that moniker. The Zerbe dies are known pairs, V47 & V1AG. This conclusion is still sort of up in the air - it may always be - but Ash is a scholar of such standards that if he's convinced enough to put the theory forth, it has to be given serious consideration.

Like any die pair, these will have an evolving lifespan. The various identifying scratches will change over time, and as the dies age some will disappear entirely. The scribbles will tend to remain in sufficient detail to probably help at any stage of the die's life, but until such time as each VAM is rendered complete in detail like this, or better:



....sufficient to identify each little die scratch, doubling point and design flaw, it will remain an inexact science.

Just spreading the word, man. I'll talk to anybody who will listen.