1888-P VAM-1A

Description

Discovered by C. Logan McKechnie in October 2003, VAM-1A of the 1888 Philadelphia Mint Morgan Dollar is classified as III21 - C3a with the designation "Clashed Obverse n" and assigned the catalog number 190. This variety documents a die clash event where the incuse letter "n" from the reverse inscription "In" transferred to the obverse die, appearing as a partial ghost impression next to Liberty's neck on George T. Morgan's iconic obverse portrait. Die clash events on Morgan Dollars are among the most studied in American numismatics because the high relief of both obverse and reverse designs creates substantial transferred detail when the dies contact each other without a planchet between them. The clashed "n" from the word "In" (from "In God We Trust" or the Latin legend) manifests as an incuse impression on the obverse die, which then appears as a raised element on struck coins — a mirror-image transfer that experienced collectors learn to recognize. The III21 obverse classification specifies the die's characteristics within the Van Allen-Mallis system, while C3a identifies the reverse die state. The 1888-P Morgan Dollar had a substantial mintage of approximately 12.2 million pieces at Philadelphia, making it a common date in the series, but specific clash varieties represent a fraction of total surviving coins since they originate from individual die pairs that experienced clash events during their service life. McKechnie's 2003 discovery, decades after the primary wave of VAM cataloging, demonstrates the ongoing nature of Morgan Dollar variety research as improved imaging technology and expanded collector networks continue to surface previously undocumented die pairs with distinctive clash transfer characteristics.

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