1881-P VAM-11

Description

VAM-11 of the 1881-P Morgan Dollar documents the eleventh identified die variety from Philadelphia Mint production in 1881, a year that saw substantial silver dollar coinage under the continuing mandate of the Bland-Allison Act. The Philadelphia Mint served as the primary Morgan Dollar production facility throughout the series' run, and its 1881 output employed numerous die pairs that VAM researchers have systematically cataloged and documented. George T. Morgan's obverse portrait of Lady Liberty, inspired by Philadelphia schoolteacher Anna Willess Williams who reportedly sat for five modeling sessions, features the iconic left-facing profile adorned with wheat stalks and cotton bolls in the hair, symbolizing the agricultural underpinnings of American prosperity. The reverse displays a heraldic eagle with outstretched wings clutching arrows and an olive branch, surrounded by a laurel wreath and the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN GOD WE TRUST, and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Struck in 90% silver and 10% copper, the coin weighs 26.73 grams with a diameter of 38.1 mm and a reeded edge. Philadelphia coins of this era carry no mintmark, as the original Mint facility's production was identified by the absence of a branch mint letter. The 1881-P Morgan Dollar is relatively available in circulated grades but attracts strong collector interest in gem condition, and VAM-11's position as the eleventh documented variety indicates collectors have multiple die-specific characteristics to compare when attributing their specimens — including date position, die cracks, polishing evidence, and clash marks that distinguish one working die pair from another.

External References