1881-P VAM-16

Description

Discovered by Jeff Oxman in February 1985, this Philadelphia Mint Morgan Dollar is designated VAM-16 under Classification III2 16, C3a, documenting Tripled 18 and Stars. On the obverse, all left and right stars are tripled towards the rim. The first 1 is doubled below the top and bottom crossbars, and the first 8 is doubled at the top inside of both loops and tripled at the bottom outside of the lower loop, with a short die chip at the top left inside of the upper loop. The reverse is a normal C3a die. Struck in 90% silver at the Philadelphia Mint, the 1881 Morgan Dollar saw substantial production during the height of the silver dollar era mandated by the Bland-Allison Act. The tripling on the stars and date digits distinguishes VAM-16 from other 1881-P varieties, as the outward spread towards the rim on the stars indicates the hub was slightly smaller or differently positioned during the secondary impressions. Oxman's 1985 discovery predates the widespread adoption of modern die variety attribution methods, making VAM-16 one of the earlier documented tripled varieties in the Morgan series.

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