Heritage Auctions - Our curator picked his favorite items from our upcoming
June 2 PL & DMPL Morgan Dollars & VAM Dollars U.S. Coins Showcase AuctionZeke's Picks: Chief Numismatic Cataloguer, US Coins
1879-O $1 O Over Horizontal O, VAM-4, MS61 PCGSVAM-4 is one of the two 1879-O VAMs that are significant for the collector. It and VAM-28, are both O Over Horizontal O mintmark varieties, and both are listed among the Top 100 Morgan VAMs. VAM-4 is more plentiful than VAM-28, although it is still a challenging acquisition in Mint State. The namesake feature of the variety is the curious mintmark, which was initially punched sideways and then corrected-but with the original sideways punch still visible inside the second upright mintmark. These dies were made in Philadelphia, and mintmarks were punched into them before shipping the dies to the branch mints, so New Orleans received this blundered reverse and had no choice but to use it. After all, coining
Morgan dollars was why the New Orleans Mint was reopened after its closure during the Civil War. This VAM-4 coin is in Mint State and is quite appealing for the lowly MS61 grade.
1887 $1 Donkey Tail, VAM-25A, XF45 PCGSThe 1887 VAM-25A is in the class of VAMs that are noteworthy die states as opposed to noteworthy die blunders or varieties. The reverse is heavily cracked around the periphery, and a prominent die chip appears at the bottom right base of the D in DOLLAR. The "tail" position of the die chip and its association with the letter D earn the variety the fanciful "Donkey Tail" moniker, which has no doubt confused many young numismatists who aren't yet familiar with the world of VAMs. This is a nice, lightly circulated example with no major problems.
1888-O $1 Hot Lips, Doubled Die Obverse, VAM-4, -- Improperly Cleaned -- NGC Details. XFThe 1888-O VAM-4 doubled die variety is one of what I call the trophy VAMs. I.e., it is a Top 100
VAM with a dramatic visual appearance. The obverse is so prominently die doubled that Liberty's gobbled lips are immediately apparent to the naked eye. Due to the popularity and general scarcity of this variety, examples tend to bring strong premiums at auction. I think a lot of collectors will be willing to overlook the fact that this piece is cleaned just to be able to own a "Hot Lips" Morgan.
1889 $1 VAM-68 MS64 PCGSThis is the discovery coin for the 1889 VAM-68 variety. Die doubling of the ear is the hallmark of the die pair, and while this is a lesser
VAM in the world of Morgan's, the chance to acquire the discovery coin for any variety is a rare opportunity.
Posted 05/29/2025 4:51 pm
