1879-P VAM-8

Description

Discovered by George Mallis in June 1965 — one of the earliest VAM attributions in Morgan Dollar history — the 1879-P VAM-8 Doubled 1-79 documents doubling on three of the four date digits. Classified as III2 8 - C3a (Doubled 1-79) under catalog number 179, the obverse shows the right side of the stem of the 1 and the 7 doubled, along with doubling on the lower left side of the upper loop of the 9, while the reverse is a normal die. George Mallis, co-creator of the VAM system alongside Leroy Van Allen, personally attributed this variety during the foundational period of Morgan Dollar die variety research that would eventually produce "The Comprehensive Catalog and Encyclopedia of Morgan and Peace Dollars." The 1879-P Morgan Dollar was struck at the Philadelphia Mint during the second full year of the series, which began in 1878 under the Bland-Allison Act requiring the Treasury to purchase silver bullion for coinage. Date doubling on Morgan Dollars resulted from the hand-punching process where each digit was individually impressed into the working die, and any movement of the punch between hammer blows created visible doubling. That three digits show doubling while the 8 does not suggests the 8 may have been seated more firmly on the first impression, or the die sinker corrected the alignment before punching that digit.

External References