1885-P VAM-1G

Description

Discovered by John Coxe in November 2006, the 1885-P VAM-1G Morgan Dollar captures a die clash event where the lowercase n from the reverse inscription IN transferred onto the obverse next to Liberty's neck. This clashed letter is the primary diagnostic — a raised incuse n in the obverse field created when the dies struck together without a planchet, impressing reverse design elements into the obverse die surface. Catalog notes identify this as the same die pair documented under VAM-25 and VAM-25A, meaning three designations track one die combination at different stages. The G suffix within the VAM-1 family indicates a late die-state progression. Die clashing was a recurring event during Morgan Dollar production — heavy press forces and rapid striking rates meant planchet feeding failures periodically allowed direct die contact. Philadelphia struck 17,787,767 Morgan Dollars in 1885, one of the higher mintages. Coxe's identification of the specific clashed letter as n from IN demonstrates the precision of modern VAM attribution in matching transferred elements to their source inscriptions.

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