1879-P VAM-24

Description

Discovered by Martin Field in October 1979, VAM-24 of the 1879-P Morgan Dollar is classified III2 24 - C3a and documents comprehensive date doubling across the digits 1 through 9. The 1 is doubled slightly below the bottom of the crossbar, while the 9 shows doubling at the left outside of both loops — and notably, this is an open 9 variety, meaning the top loop of the 9 does not connect to the vertical stroke, creating a gap that is itself a diagnostic feature independent of the doubling. Stars 4 through 7 on the left side of the obverse are also slightly doubled toward the rim, extending the doubling footprint beyond the date area into the peripheral design elements. This wide distribution of doubling — affecting four date digits and four stars — indicates a substantial hub displacement that impacted a broad arc of the obverse die face, with the displacement vector apparently directed outward toward the rim (as suggested by the stars' rim-ward doubling). The reverse carries a standard C3a normal die classification. George T. Morgan's Liberty Head design was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 90% silver at 26.73 grams and 38.1 mm diameter. The 1879-P Morgan Dollar had a mintage of 14,806,000 pieces. Martin Field's 1979 discovery places this attribution in the first generation of systematic VAM research, and the combination of doubled 1-9 date with the open 9 configuration and doubled stars creates a variety with multiple independent diagnostic checkpoints spanning a wide zone of the obverse.

External References