Are Die States And Markers Relevant On Proof Coin Listings?

Dies do eventually wear out and before the end of their use the coins they struck can show die wear. Some older coins show evidence of die polishing to extend the life of the die. I think the US Mint is a lot more careful retiring proof dies rather than circulated coins. Circulation coin dies can strike hundreds of thousands in the fast press machines. There's been a few times when the mint has sold canceled dies to the public. I have a 1996 Olympic die that was cancelled with an X on it but most of the design is still there. It only struck 716 coins then was retired, removed from the press due to some slight damage on the field called starburst, small pits.

A lot of collectors enjoy third party labels like "first strike" "early releases" etc. But the mint has stated they do not keep track of when a coin was struck and they do not ship coins in the order they were struck. In my opinion it's the grade that counts most, not the phrase on the label. Coins struck the first day can get a MS70 and the last coin struck of that type on it's last day can also get a MS70. I assume it depends when a mint employee examines the coins and decides to retire a die and start with a new one. But maybe they have a computer with camera to scan coins for quality, I don't know. It's possible your chances of getting a better looking coin are improved at the beginning of a run rather than the end of production, at least some collectors think so.

I have some Morgan and Peace dollars which have VAM numbers. Some are listed with various die stages. In particular I have several 1891 O Morgans with early, mid and last die stage of a clash and die break. Proof coins can have doubled dies and other errors but I don't know much about them or their stages.