I was researching my 1921 Morgans and came across an article in coin collectors.com posted by in Feb 2018, regarding a1921 Morgan with the exact same "s" in the exact same spot on the coin as my 1925. Strange to say the least.
Actually not that strange at all for a counterstamped coin. Someone had a bunch of S1$ and a small S punch and counterstamped them all in the same place.
Morgan and Peace dollar die varieties and have been extensively studied and documented. They are categorized by a VAM number. Collecting by VAM number is very popular. If the counterstamp on your coin or the 21 Morgan is a mint issue, it will be noted. http://ec2-13-58-222-16.us-east-2.compute.amazonaws.com/wiki/Home As others have said, it's just a stray counterstamp done after the coin left the mint, but doing some research should add to your confidence that you are getting the correct answer from CT members
When you find an unusual coin and think it might be an error, the first question you need to ask is, "how could that occur during the minting or die making process". It takes some time to learn and understand the production process, but you received a number of responses from people who are very knowledgeable with that topic. If it was die related, it would have to be raised on the die and that can't happen. If it was a dropped letter, it wouldn't be as sharp or deep, plus would need to match the size and shape of a letter on the coin. Plus it would not have displaced metal as your pics clearly show. Finally, it would be incredibly unlikely to be a mint experiment. Silver dollars have been researched by numismatists for decades (did you check out Vamworld yet?). Being a government agency, the mint kept lots of records and many of those have been available to researchers at the national archives, or recently through the Newman Numismatic Portal web site. Yet nothing has ever been found regarding mint counterstamps. That's why the experienced members have been telling you that you don't have anything special. They aren't guessing, and aren't trying to hurt your feelings, just telling you the truth to help you learn and grow in the hobby. Hope this helps
Normally the counterstamp is an advertisement or political in nature. Sometimes a person stamps their initials, or random things just for fun I suppose.
Yes I have checked out the VAMs, as a matter of fact I was reading VAM world just before I came on in here. And yes I realize the experts here aren't guessing and I don't wear my feelings on my sleeve so no worries there. I'm just naturally curious and I love learning. .when someone tells me something that goes against my own feeling regarding a subject, I expect an explanation of why they have come to this conclusion. You can blame my father for that, he always explained his reasoning behind his answers. Thanks for the insight, it is always helpful!
But you're asking for the wrong explanation. The minting and die making process is well documented and there are only specific instances that can produce an error. However, once a coin leaves the mint, there are countless ways for a coin to be damaged and unless you witness it, an exact explanation can be challenging. When you see an unusual coin, you should never assume it's an error because you can't explain how it could be damaged. You always want an explanation of how it could occur in the minting process.