1881-P VAM-25

Description

Discovered in November 2011 by Gary Redfeather (Keil), VAM-25 documents a doubled date variety on the 1881 Philadelphia Mint Morgan Dollar, classified as III2 25 with the C3a reverse die pairing. The obverse shows doubling on the 1 at the top right and on the left 8 at the lower right inside, with a slightly doubled Liberty profile visible from nose to chin — diagnostic features that confirm this is a genuine hub doubling event rather than strike doubling or die deterioration. A key die marker for attribution is the presence of polishing lines in front of Liberty's eye, where Mint personnel dressed the die surface to extend its working life. Philadelphia struck approximately 9.16 million Morgan Dollars in 1881, a figure that reflected the ongoing requirements of the Bland-Allison Act mandating the Treasury to purchase and coin between two and four million dollars' worth of silver each month. The doubled date on VAM-25 provides a visually compelling attribution point, as the overlapping numerals are among the most readily identifiable doubled die features for collectors examining coins without specialized equipment. The VAM system established by Leroy Van Allen and A. George Mallis remains the standard framework for Morgan Dollar die variety classification and research.

External References