1887-O VAM-10

Description

Leroy Van Allen — co-creator of the VAM classification system alongside George Mallis — personally discovered this New Orleans Mint Morgan Dollar in June 1977, cataloging it as III2 10 - C3a (181). VAM-10 belongs to the doubled 87 subgroup of 1887-O varieties, where both the second 8 and the 7 received secondary impressions during die preparation. The second 8 is doubled at the lower left outside, producing a shelf of extra metal visible under low magnification, while the 7 shows slight doubling at its very top. What further distinguishes VAM-10 within the doubled 87 family are its die chips: material fills the space between the loops of the first 8 on both the left and right sides, and an additional chip appears between the loops of the second 8 on the right. These accumulated die chips indicate a die that saw extended service, progressively collecting debris in the recessed areas of the date numerals. The combination of hub doubling on two digits with multiple die chip markers makes VAM-10 one of the more readily attributable members of the 1887-O doubled 87 group. =1887-O VAM-10 Doubled 87= Discovered by Leroy Van Allen, June 1977.

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