1903-P VAM-7

Description

George Powell's January 2006 discovery, VAM-7 for the 1903-P Morgan dollar pairs a III27 obverse with a C4b reverse under the descriptive title "Doubled 1 and Reverse Legend." The obverse exhibits doubling on the digit 1 in the date, visible as additional material above the base on both the left and right sides of the numeral — a subtle separation that requires magnification to appreciate but provides a clear attribution point once identified. The reverse doubling is more extensive: the top inside edges of ES OF MERICA and the bottom inside edges of NE DOLLAR are doubled toward the coin's center, creating secondary impressions that face inward from the primary inscriptions. This inward-directed spread on the reverse legend is characteristic of a hub misalignment where the secondary impression was slightly compressed relative to the primary, shifting peripheral design elements centerward. The III27 obverse classification and (189) die point reference number position VAM-7 within the broader 1903-P emission sequence that VAM researchers use to track die marriages chronologically. Philadelphia struck 4,652,755 Morgan dollars in 1903, one of the lower mintages in the final decade of initial Morgan dollar production, which ended in 1904 before the brief 1921 revival. George T. Morgan's design had been in continuous service since 1878, and by 1903 the hub and die preparation processes were thoroughly established — yet the doubled 1 and inward-shifted reverse legend on VAM-7 demonstrate that alignment variations persisted throughout the series' entire production history.

External References