1882-P VAM-15A

Description

Discovered in 2009 by Brent Fogelberg, the 1882-P VAM-15A Morgan Dollar carries the classification III2 15 · C3a (Doubled 18-2, Die Break Ear) with die pairing number 179. The obverse (III2 15) exhibits a die break at the inside of Liberty's ear that extends to the right across the rear of the ear — a structural failure in a high-detail area of the die where the deep recesses required to produce the ear's fine features created stress concentration points susceptible to fracturing under repeated striking loads. The reverse (C3a) is classified as a normal die with no significant anomalies. A community comment from collector "fogie" (Fogelberg himself) notes that the VAM-15A discovery coin shows only minimal similarities to the VAM-15, raising doubt about whether they share the same die pair — an observation that highlights the ongoing scholarly debate within the VAM community about die pair attribution, where subtle differences between die states and genuinely different dies can be difficult to distinguish. The doubled 18-2 component of the designation indicates doubling on the digits 1, 8, and 2 in the date, though the die break at the ear is the most visually prominent diagnostic feature. George T. Morgan's design was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1882 in 90% silver at 26.73 grams with a 38.1 mm diameter. The 1882-P had a mintage of approximately 11.1 million pieces. The ear break location is diagnostically valuable because it sits in a consistently positioned design element that can be quickly checked under low magnification when examining potential VAM-15A candidates.

External References