Every effort has been made to maintain the integrity of data from its original source when it is known.  Morgan Dollar and VAM information is repeated often on the Internet and in print, so the original source is often lost.

In particular we rely on information from VAMworld which has been expanded to include descriptions on links, rarity, and interest information.  With regard to VAM descriptions, the information has been altered to change sentence fragments and other wording into complete sentences, or to clarify descriptions.

Each VAM description includes a direct link back to the original source material at VAMworld.

 

Unless otherwise noted, all images on this web site are from our own collection of 1881-O Morgan Dollars.

All coins have been professionally graded by PCGS.  All VAMs have been identified and then verified by the site owners through the Variety Slabbing Service.

In the case of the 3 VAMs that PCGS will certify then by them when we deemed it necessary or advantageous.

 

All of our discoveries follow a consistent process where they are first acquired by us,  identified by VSS, and then approved and verified by Leroy Van Allen.

 

A Guide Book of Morgan Silver Dollars, A Complete History and Price Guide, Third Edition, Q. David Bowers, 2007

A Treatise on The Coinage of the United States Branch Mints, A. G. Heaton, 1893

America's Money, America's Story, Richard Doty, 2008

An Analysis of Morgan and Peace Dollars, Wayne Miller, 1976

The Art and Science of Coin Grading, Jason Poe, 2014

American Silver Eagles: A Guide to the U.S. Bullion Coin Program, 2nd Edition, John Mercanti, 2013

The Authoritative Reference on Buffalo Nickels, Second Edition, John Wexler, Ron Pope, and Kevin Flynn, 2007, Chapter 3, pages 87 - 96

Coin Chemistry Including Preservation and Cleaning, Second Edition, Weimar W. White, 2006

The Coin Collector's Survival Manual, Revised Seventh Edition, Scott A. Travers, 2015

Coin of the Year: Celebrating Three Decades of the Best in Coin Design and Craftsmanship, Donald Scarinci, 2015

Coins and Minting, Denis Cooper, 1983.

The Comprehensive Encyclopedia, Morgan and Peace Dollars, Revised Edition, Leroy C. Van Allen and George A. Malls, 1976

The Comprehensive Encyclopedia, Morgan and Peace Dollars, Fourth Edition, Leroy C. Van Allen and George A. Malls, 1991

The Comprehensive U. S. Silver Dollar Encyclopedia, John W. Highfield, 1992

The Comstock Lode, 1849-1888, Hubert Howe Bancroft, 2014

Crime of 1873, The Comstock Connection, Robert R. Van Ryzin, 2001

The Diary of a Forty-Niner, Life in the California Gold Rush, Chauncey Canfield, 2016

Elite Clashed Morgan Dollars, Mark Kimpton, M.D., Photos by Leroy Van Allen, 2005

From Mine to Mint: American Coinage Operations and Technology 1833 to 1937, Roger W. Burdette, 2013

Georgia's Gold Rush Era 1829 to 1837, George Gilman Smith, 2016

Grading Coins by Photographs, An Action Guide for the Collector and Investor, Q. David Bowers, 2008

History of the United States Mint and Coinage, Sanford J. Durst, 1977

The Morgan and Peace Dollar Textbook, Wayne Miller

Morgan and Peace Dollar Varieties, Leroy Van Allen, 1965

Morgan Dollar, America's Love Affair With a Legendary Coin, Michael "Miles" Standish, 2014

Morgan Dollar Overdates, Over Mintmarks, Misplaced Dates, and Clashed E Reverses, Kevin Flynn, 1998

Numismatic Art in America, Aesthetics of the United States Coinage, 2nd Edition, Cornelius Vermeule, 2007

The Official Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins, Sixth Edition, Kenneth Bressett, 2006

One Coin is Never Enough, Michael S. Shutty, Jr., Ph.D, 2011

The Private Sketchbook of Georgie T. Morgan, America's Silver Dollar Artist, Karen M. Lee, 2013

Renaissance of American Coinage 1905 - 1908, Roger W. Burdette, 2006

Silver Dollar Fortune Telling, Fifth Edition, Les and Sue Fox, 1984

Silver Kings, Oscar Lewis, 2012

The Spanish Treasure Fleets, Timothy R. Walton, 2015

SSDC Official Guide to the Hot 50 Morgan Dollar Varieties, Jeff Oxman

Treasures of the Spanish Main: Shipwrecked Galleons of the New World, John Christopher Fine, 2006

U. S. Mint and Coinage, Don Taxay, 1966

The Value of Money, Ellen R. Feingold, 2015

Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, Walter Breen, 1988

 

American Numismatic Association

Louisiana State Museum (Old Mint)

MedalBlog

Newman Numismatic Portal

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society

The Royal Mint Museum

Professional Coin Grading Service

U S Coin Values

U S Treasury Department

VAMworld

Variety Slabbing Service

Wexler's Die Varieties

Wikipedia (Bland-Allison Act)

Wikipedia (New Orleans Mint History)

 

MedalBlog, "Archive for the ‘Pantograph’ Category" by D. Wayne Johnson

MedalBlog, "Posts Tagged 'Hill Machine'" by D. Wayne Johnson

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society, "More on the U. S. MINT Pantographic Reducing Machine", Volume 9, Number 1, January 1, 2006, Article 5 by Wayne Homren, Editor.

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society, "The Janvier Die-Engraving Pantograph", Volume 7, Number 11, March 14, 2004, Article 10 by Wayne Homren, Editor.

Numismatist "The Mint at New Orleans" by Greg Lambousy,  March 2003

 

The Royal Mint, "Design and Die Making" Video