1887-O VAM-30

Description

Discovered by Clayton Christianson in January 2001 and subsequently revised in 2004, the 1887-O VAM-30 "Doubled Ear" Morgan dollar documents a subtle but diagnostically significant doubling of Liberty's ear on George T. Morgan's obverse design. Cataloged as III226 C3a, the variety pairs a specific obverse die showing the ear slightly doubled to the right inside and at the bottom outside with a standard C3a reverse die. The doubling diagnostic — visible as a faint secondary contour along the interior right edge and the exterior bottom of Liberty's ear — results from a hub doubling event during die preparation where the hub impression shifted slightly between impressions, displacing the fine detail of the ear from its primary position. New Orleans struck approximately 11.55 million Morgan dollars in 1887, a substantial output from a facility that operated under conditions often described as less controlled than the Philadelphia Mint, contributing to the diverse die variety population found on New Orleans Morgan dollars. An additional diagnostic notes the date is set further left than normal, providing a secondary identification checkpoint independent of the ear doubling itself. The leftward date position reflects how the date punch was individually placed into each working die by hand, with natural variation in position creating catalogable differences between dies. Clayton Christianson's original 2001 discovery was refined in 2004, presumably as additional specimens were examined and the diagnostic criteria were clarified — a common occurrence in VAM research where initial attributions are updated as the knowledge base expands. Collectors should examine Liberty's ear under 15-20x magnification with directional lighting, focusing on the interior right edge and exterior bottom contour where the secondary hub impression is most apparent, and cross-check the date position against reference images.

External References