1879-P VAM-2

Description

Discovered by George Mallis in June 1965, the 1879-P VAM-2 is distinguished by its Open 9 date — a die characteristic where the knob of the digit 9 does not touch the body of the numeral, leaving a visible gap that separates this variety from the more common closed-9 dies used for the date. The obverse is classified as Type III2, representing a specific hub variety in the Morgan Dollar die lineage, while the reverse uses the standard C3a configuration. The Open 9 feature is a hub-level characteristic rather than a die-specific anomaly, meaning it was present on the master hub and potentially transferred to multiple working dies, though the VAM designation identifies this specific die pairing. George Mallis, co-author of the Van Allen-Mallis reference that established the VAM classification system for Morgan and Peace Dollars, personally discovered this variety during the foundational research that would define the field. The 1879 Philadelphia Mint Morgan Dollar was produced in substantial quantities during the early years of the Bland-Allison Act's mandated silver dollar coinage, and date position varieties like the Open 9 serve as important diagnostic tools for understanding the hub and die manufacturing sequences at the Philadelphia Mint during this period of American silver dollar production.

External References