1902-P VAM-20

Description

Discovered in 2008, the 1902-P VAM-20 "Doubled 1" Morgan dollar documents a doubled first digit in the date on George T. Morgan's silver dollar obverse. Cataloged as 20 III2 6 - C4a (Doubled 1) with catalog number 189, this variety identifies a die where the numeral 1 in the date shows a secondary impression, indicating the date was punched into the working die with a slight displacement between strikes or with a secondary touch of the date logotype. The catalog notation includes an editorial comment referencing a potential typo in the original classification — noting that the III2 6 obverse designation may not correspond exactly to established die classifications, and that 4th edition errata identify III 2 6 as the obverse of VAM-9, suggesting a shared obverse die between the two varieties that was cataloged under different numbers due to distinct reverse pairings. Philadelphia struck approximately 7.99 million Morgan dollars in 1902, one of the final years of original Morgan dollar production before the series was suspended after 1904. Date punching on Morgan dollar dies required a mint worker to position a four-digit logotype against the die and strike it with a hammer, and incomplete seating, double-tapping, or slight shifting between impacts could produce doubled digits. The C4a reverse classification indicates a specific reverse die type paired with this distinctive obverse. DPIS entries and emission sequence data remain unlisted for both dies. Collectors should examine the numeral 1 in the date under 15-20x magnification, looking for a secondary impression displaced from the primary — the doubled digit serves as the sole reported diagnostic for this variety attribution.

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