1896-P VAM-5

Description

Discovered by Bill Fivaz in November 1974 — making it one of the earlier documented VAM varieties in the catalog's history — the 1896-P VAM-5 Morgan Dollar is classified as 5 III25 – C3a (Doubled 18-6). The obverse (III2 5) exhibits strong doubling across multiple date digits: the 1 is doubled below both crossbars, the 8 is doubled slightly at the top inside and lower left outside of the upper loop and at the bottom outside of the lower loop, and the 6 is doubled outside at both the top and bottom. This multi-digit doubling pattern, with each digit showing displacement at different specific locations, documents the precise vector of the hub misalignment during the hubbing process, as the direction and magnitude of visible doubling varies with each digit's position relative to the displacement axis. The reverse (C3a) is a normal die. The DPIS reading of LE3/RE4 provides die position reference coordinates. A significant catalog note states that all known examples of this die pair are found to be 1896-P VAM-5A (with pitting in the wing), suggesting that the hypothetical pristine VAM-5 state without wing pitting may not exist in surviving specimens — the die pitting having developed very early in the die's service life, or possibly being present from initial preparation. The Morgan Dollar was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1896 in 90% silver at 26.73 grams with a 38.1 mm diameter. George T. Morgan's design was in its nineteenth year of production. Bill Fivaz, who co-authored the Cherrypickers' Guide to Rare Die Varieties, discovered this variety during the formative period of systematic die variety cataloging, and the strong three-digit doubled date remains one of the more visually accessible diagnostics among 1896-P Morgan Dollar varieties.

External References