Morgan dollar mintmarks

I have recently acquired some Morgans from what I believe to be a reputable dealer. One item that is somewhat puzzling is the mintmark on a 1921 S. It is rather faint, and requires a loupe to see any detail. It is the small variety mintmark.

Is this common among the Morgan family to see deviations in the strike of the mintmark. The coin itself is XF-AU quality, and all other characterisitics appear normal. The D and the O of dollar are also well struck. I have tried to photograph the coin, but without a macro lens I am not able to get a decent shot to post.

Your comments are appreciated.
Cris

 

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Like GDJMSP said, it's hard to say for sure.
One other possibility is that there could have been some dirt or grease in that part of the die when the coin was struck. This would have prevented the mintmark from striking up fully.

 

Here is the best pic I can come up with. I tried to reduce it further, but didn't figure that would help the matter.

 

No use having the tight shot without the full coin, I said to myself.....

 

Doesn't look too off the wall. There wouldn't be much of a reason to add a mintmark to a 21 morgan, so I would have to say its probably real.

It is nice to see that you are paying attention. This is the beginnings of a variety collector.

 

Can't say that I see anything unusual, either.
The mintmark is small, but that is a normal characteristic of this particular issue.
(VERY good pictures!)

 

Thanks so much for the eyes and ideas. After looking at other San Francisco Morgans, it appears that there is a fat and skinny curve in the S, and that the Mint officials didn't pay that close of attention when they stamped the die. GDJ, I think you're right: that mintmark is flipped.

Jody - a tripod and time delay shutter. Maybe it is the coffee, but I cannot get a reliable pic from my hands!

ND - I think you're right on the varieties thing. I ran into a VAM18 1878CC, and I begged my local dealer to show me the difference. After waiting about an hour and a half for the traffic to die down, it took about 20 minutes of coaching to see it.

My only concern is this - My local dealer seems possessed with VAMs, and I don't think I can handle another addiction

Thanks again,
Cris

 

Cris,

I take it that you do enjoy a good cigar. Correct?

 

I am enjoying a nice corojo churchill right now!

I had to drop an addiction to pick up coins: Cigars, Coins and Watches. Pens fell off the list!

 

Very good, sir.
You're right, coins can become VERY addicting.
I also collect postcards, firearms and old photographs.
Numismatics will always be my first love, though.
BTW, I see you are in Raleigh. I'm just North of Winston-Salem.
Howdy, neighbor!

 

hey as a fellow vam enthusiast, here is a bit of advice for you if you decide to jump into this area of endeavor.while there is nothing wrong with buying pre attributed vam's from a dealer who is into that kind of thing.that is not my cup of tea,i generally only buy pre attributed vam's if they are really hard to find varieties or priced pretty close to normal prices, for me the real fun is learning what to look for and going on your own treasure hunts,vam's are one area largely ignored my many dealers alot of dealers just dont have the time to spend glassing every morgan that comes through their hands.you will be amazed how many vams you can find looking through dealers coin boxes,i have even found some good ones in the 8.99 junk dollar box,and have found quite a few in the bu boxes, as the unc coins are gererally easier to see die varieties on.i think this is one of the few areas of coin collecting where the average guy can still cherry pick most dealers.and while vams for the most part arent yet bringing super high premiums, who knows what the future will hold.there are already quite a few that bring big bux.and for me it's all about the treasure hunt, i can spend hours looking through boxes of dollars, and i always feel like i have scored big when i discover a good vam,even if it is only slightly more valuable than a common strike.
my best advice is get a 20x loupe and the van allen and mallis encyclopedia of morgan and peace dollars, or if you dont want to get totally overwhelmed just get the top 100 and hot 50 books.then find a dealer who isnt really into vams and find you own.
good luck and hope the bug bites you hard, the more people fall in love with vam's the more mine will be worth

 

I love the VAM variety, but more often than not, most collectors cannot spot the difference. Unless the rarity is 5 or better, I won't even mark the holder.
Now if we have customers looking for certain VAM dollars, we certainly do the work identifying the coins for them. Most VAM collectors enjoy the hunt. It is just a specialized form of cherry picking.

 

cobaltrod, I couldn't agree with you more. At this point, by eyes aren't trained to find the VAMs even if I wanted to. Most of my time is spent trying to learn at the 7x level. Once I get a little more knowledge behind the eyes, I'm definitely hooked.

My weekly visit to the local dealer was interesting and disturbing at the same time. I was thumbing through boxes and hit a coin that looked interesting. I handed it to my dealer, who then spent the next five minutes showing me die erosion on this little beauty.

I'm in serious trouble.
Cris

 

Sounds like a great dealer.