1880-P VAM-20

Description

Discovered by Dave Borofski in February 1973, VAM-20 is among the earlier variety attributions for the 1880 Philadelphia Morgan Dollar series, documented in the era when Van Allen and Mallis were still actively building the foundational Morgan variety catalog. The variety carries the classification 20 III2 20 - C3a and is defined principally by its doubled date. The entire date is slightly doubled on the obverse. The 1 shows doubling at the bottom edge of the crossbar. The first 8 is doubled on the bottom right outside surface and presents a short spike between the loops on the right side. The second 8 is doubled on the top left and right and on the left outside of the lower loop, with a short dash below the lower loop. The 0 is doubled on the top and right outside. The reverse is C3a, a normal die. No emission sequence information has been separately cataloged for this variety. The 1880-P Morgan Dollar was struck in 90% silver at the Philadelphia Mint; doubled date varieties on this issue result from misalignment during the multiple hubbing passes required to impart full design depth into the working die. VAM attribution follows the Van Allen-Mallis reference standard.

External References