1888-O VAM-22

Description

Discovered by Jeff Oxman in December 1998, the 1888-O VAM-22 "O/O Left" Morgan dollar documents a doubled mintmark variety where the O appears with a long thin curved line on the lower left outside — the remnant of a secondary O impression that was partially effaced but not entirely removed. Cataloged as 22 III21 · C3 j (O/O Left) with die number 181, this variety pairs an Obverse III21 die with a Reverse C3j classification. The O/O Left designation indicates the secondary O mintmark impression sits to the left of the primary, consistent with the hand-punching process used to apply mintmarks to individual working dies at the New Orleans Mint. George T. Morgan's silver dollar was struck at New Orleans with an approximate mintage of 12.15 million coins in 1888, a substantial production year that generated numerous die pairs and corresponding VAM diversity. Jeff Oxman, one of the most prolific figures in Morgan dollar VAM research, has contributed hundreds of variety discoveries across the series, and his identification of the doubled O on this 1888-O die adds to the comprehensive mintmark documentation that forms a major category within the VAM system. The "long thin curved line on lower left outside" description characterizes the visible remnant of the first O punch, which was struck slightly left of the intended position and then overlaid by the final, correctly positioned O impression. Because the initial impression was not completely obliterated by the corrective strike, the curved trace of the mispositioned letter persists as a raised arc adjacent to the primary mintmark. DPIS data and emission sequence records for both obverse and reverse dies remain undocumented for this variety, leaving production chronology questions open for future research. Collectors should examine the O mintmark under at least 15x magnification, focusing on the lower left exterior for the thin curved remnant line.

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