I just found out today that the Morgan $ has a little tiny "M" in the neckline, by the hair. It obviously means, the head engravers name Morgan. After many years of collecting this coin and reading countless texts about it. Guess what? I had absolutely no idea what so ever about this haha lol. You are never above learning. Although, the "M" is very small and kinda hard to pick up, on some coins.
Yes, though the "M" is not a "mint mark". It is more correctly called a designer's initial. On a similar theme, check out the tiny "D" on this Pilgrim half dollar. It's right beneath William Bradford's elbow, just to the left of the larger "D" in the word "DOLLAR". It's not a Denver mintmark - these coins were all struck at Philadelphia, with no mintmark. In this case, the "D" is the initial of the designer, Cyrus E. Dallin. What's funny is that I once saw a Pilgrim half in an Accugrade (ACG) slab that said "1921-D" on the label, as if the "D" were a mintmark. (PCGS coinfacts.com image)
Foe example, if a description says "die crack from left star 3 to text stop", you will know more precisely where to look.
Morgan initialed some of his other engravings. One is the stunning shield earring design. See the link below for one coming up for auction. Save your pennies, and if they're high-grade 1909-S VDBs, you might be able to buy it. Cal link: https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-7WJJ7
I believe it's between VAM 5 & 32 but I don't typically go after them unless I find one in high grade so maybe @messydesk can add some clarity. Any in AU or better is a killer find
VAMs 5 and 32 are the toughest, 6 is probably the easiest. Any in AU and higher are tough, and pop tops of any of them are 5-figure cons.
