1902-P VAM-10

Description

Discovered by Leroy Van Allen in January 1980 — one of the co-creators of the VAM system itself — 1902-P VAM-10 is catalogued as 10 III2 1 · C4/C3e — 2 Olive Reverse. The reverse C4/C3e shows a shallow extra olive over the first olive on the olive branch, with a die crack running from the arrow feathers across ON of ONE to the rim as the confirming reverse die marker. The obverse III2 1 shows a normal die. The 1902-P Morgan dollar in 90% silver was struck at Philadelphia without a mintmark. Van Allen's personal discovery of this variety adds historical weight to the attribution: the VAM reference system, co-authored by Van Allen and George Mallis, transformed Morgan dollar collecting by providing systematic die-marriage cataloguing for the entire series. The 2-olive reverse on VAM-10 provides a naked-eye diagnostic when present on well-struck pieces. Rarity: R-5, estimated 31 to 100 known to exist. The arrow-to-rim die crack in later die states offers an additional field marker for attribution confirmation.

External References