1903-S VAM-2 Small S Micro S

Discovered by Melvin Carmichael, August 1951.
This coin is a Top 100 Morgan VAM.
2 III2 1 C4b (Small S) (189)
Reverse C4b - Normal die with small II S mint mark centered and upright.

Emission Sequence: Obverse:; Reverse:

Comments:

1903-S VAM-2 Micro S. This rare coin uses a small mint mark on the lower reverse. The 1903-S is a costly coin to begin with, but add this micro S and the price jumps considerably. In addition, condition plays a part in the rarity. VAM-2 coins are very hard to find in XF and above.

Threads:

LVA Plate Photos:

Additional Photos:

Here is a comparison photo of the type II Micro S pictured above with a common type V 1903 S mintmark.

There is also a clashed die state with no apparent letter transfer. An example was sent to Leroy for examination in April 2009 but was not given a subvariety designation. See 1903-S VNA varieties for more details. We show it here because it's interesting and noteworthy. A very unscientific VAMworld.com poll indicated that between 1 in 25 and 1 in 50 of 03-S micro "s" Morgans has this clashing.
"Deep" clashing and/or gouges on the left wreath on the LDS clashed variety:

The generally accepted theory is that the mint mark for the 1903-S VAM-2 was the one designed for use on 1903-S quarters. Here is a comparison using a piece of newsprint to help establish perspective. Both coins are slabbed and newsprint is on top, hence out of focus:
1903-S VAM-2 Morgan:

1903-S Quarter: