1879-CC Morgan Dollar Capped Die - 1879-CC Capped Die Morgan $1 PCGS MS63 CAC, VAM-3. This premium quality, Mint State 1879-CC Silver Dollar has the look of a coin that could grade MS64. Soft, satiny devices are set against somewhat reflective fields creating an almost cameo effect. The surfaces are original and clean for the grade. The coin is well struck with full strands of Libertys hair above the ear and full feathers on the eagle. The CAC sticker confirms that the coin is an exceptional piece that fully merits the assigned grade.

The coin is identified as VAM-3. It is known by several names: the Large CC over the Small CC, the Broken CC, the Capped CC, or the Capped Die. On the obverse the 18 of the date is strongly doubled at the top. The 9 is open and slightly doubled at the bottom. On the reverse, there is metal above and within the mintmark. The smaller mintmark is the size of the one used in 1878. It was partially effaced in the die, and a larger CC was punched over it. It is always seen with die rust on the CC.

George T. Morgan designed the Morgan silver dollar, which was issued every year from 1878 to 1904 and then again in 1921. Hundreds of millions of Morgan silver dollars were saved in bags of 1,000 each, in bank vaults because the federal government created artificial demand for them to satisfy the Western silver interests. Some were melted in 1918, but large quantities remained in bank vaults and were later bought by investors and collectors. Because many millions of Morgan silver dollars exist today in the hands of the public, it has become the most widely collected coin of its era.

Morgans design for the dollar shows a close head of Liberty in profile facing left. She wears a headband inscribed LIBERTY. In her hair are cotton, corn, wheat, and tobacco. She wears a modified Phrygian cap and is surrounded with the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM, thirteen stars (seven left and six right), and the date. The reverse shows an eagle with wings raised looking left. In its talons are arrows and olive branch, symbols of preparedness and peace. A wreath is below and the motto IN GOD WE TRUST is above. Except for the eagles wing tips, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and ONE DOLLAR circumscribe the design. The mintmark is below the wreath and above the denomination.

When first discovered, gold and silver found in Nevada had to be shipped over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the branch mint in San Francisco. This trip was dangerous and expensive. The Nevada mine owners asked Congress to establish a branch of the mint in their state, and legislation was enacted in 1863. Carson City was chosen as the location for the mint facility because it was near some of the major mining sites.

The VAM-3 variety is about three times rarer than the Perfect CC variety. In its population report, as of January 2013, CAC has confirmed 28 in MS63.