1879 CC Capped variety Morgan

Beatlemen

Can someone tell me how do I know if 1879 CC morgan is a capped variety? What is capped mean? Thanks

nwcs

The capped die variety is VAM 3 for 1879CC. There is some die chipping around the mint mark with evidence of an underlying smaller CC mintmark. It's R6 in MS60 and R7 in MS63. Basically, a repunched mintmark.

gsaguy

Beatlemen,

It's actually quite easy if you have the coin in hand. The two major varieties, the capped die and the 'clear die' as some call it, are easily distinguishable from one another.

On the capped die, the area immediately beneath and around the CC mintmark looks as though it's corroded. In other words, it's rough looking. On the clear die coins, the CC's and the background look like a typical CC dollar.

It's believed by most that the capped die coins came about when someone at the mint was not pleased with the original mint mark and attempted to obliterate the first mintmark and replace it with another.

For those of us who look at a lot of CC dollars, we can typically pick out the capped die varieties by looking only at the obverse! Believe me, they have a certain look.

Thanks,

GSAGUY