1903-O VAM-9

Description

Discovered by Martin Field in August 1981, the 1903-O VAM-9 is designated "Doubled 1, O Tilted Left" and classified III2 5 with a C4b reverse and die pair 181. On the obverse, the 1 in the date shows doubling at the bottom right as a thin secondary line. More notably, Liberty's profile is slightly doubled along the forehead, nose, lips, and chin—an unusual manifestation that extends the doubling beyond the date into the central portrait device. The C4b reverse features an O mintmark tilted to the left, which provides a quick reverse diagnostic. The emission sequence reveals that this exact reverse die was also used to produce the 1903-O VAM-6, making these two varieties die-state companions that share an identical reverse but differ in their obverse dies. The profile doubling along Liberty's facial features, while slight, is the more interesting diagnostic from a collector standpoint, as date doubling is common across the Morgan series while portrait doubling along the full facial contour is considerably less frequently encountered.

External References