1885-P VAM-5

Description

Classified as III2 5 with a C3a reverse, VAM-5 for the 1885 Philadelphia Morgan Dollar exhibits two key obverse characteristics: the date is set further right than normal (a "Far Date" variety), and the digits 85 show doubling at their bottom portions. The far date position and doubled 85 combine to make this die marriage distinct from the numerous other 1885-P die pairings documented in the VAM catalog. A significant relationship exists with 1885-P VAM-5A, which uses the same die marriage but in a later clashed die state — VAM-5A is noted as being far more common than the unclashed VAM-5, suggesting that the die experienced clashing relatively early in its production life and most surviving coins display the clashed state. Morgan Dollars were struck at Philadelphia under the Bland-Allison Act and later the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, with the 1885-P considered a common date in the series. George T. Morgan's Liberty Head design was in its eighth year of production by 1885, and the Gilded Age economic debates over silver coinage were reaching their peak intensity. The date position — whether set left, right, high, or low — is a primary diagnostic criterion in VAM classification, as each working die received its date digits individually by hand punch, making positional variation inevitable across die pairs.

External References