1899-0 (Micro O VAM 31) Morgan Dollar Interesting Information.

Here's interesting information from the CAC website today:

https://www.cacgrading.com/cert/151...medium=email

Featuring the Micro O:

"The 1905-O Barber dime, 1892-O Barber half dollar, and 1899-O Morgan dollar all share one common variety: a Micro O mintmark. Traditionally, Philadelphia added the mintmarks to the dies before shipping them out to the Branch Mints. The Micro O likely came from Mint workers in Philadelphia using the O mintmark punch meant for Barber quarters rather than the respective mintmark punches for the other denominations. The only other dates with a major variety of micro mintmarks are the 1945-S Mercury dime and 1903-S Morgan dollar."

"The 1899-O Micro O Morgan dollar used the smaller mintmark punch intended for a quarter's reverse die. Three Micro O varieties, which have been proven to be counterfeit were the 1896-O, 1900-O, 1901-O, and 1902-O. Each used a common reverse, which is found on the true 1899-O Micro O variety (coin pictured). However, in addition, these counterfeits all share identical tooling marks. The coins are believed to be contemporary counterfeits from the early part of the 20th century, in a period of time when the silver value was worth far less than its face value; therefore, offering an opportunity to create high-quality fakes. In fact, the famous "Top 100 VAMs" list included a few of these counterfeits before their realization. This piece has an original, slightly worn look that gives it the nice AU58 grade. VAM-31 is one of 5 Micro-o varieties for 1899-O."