1904-P VAM-7

Description

Discovered by Phil Perdue in March 2008, the 1904-P VAM-7 is a Morgan dollar variety struck at the Philadelphia Mint, designated as Doubled Reverse Legend. Classified as 7 III2 1 - C4b, this variety highlights reverse die doubling on one of the final Philadelphia-minted Morgan dollars before the series' initial suspension in 1904. The Morgan dollar was composed of 90% silver and 10% copper, weighing 26.73 grams with a 38.1 mm diameter and a reeded edge. Philadelphia produced 2,788,650 Morgan dollars in 1904, a modest mintage that was the last Philadelphia Morgan dollar production until the series' 1921 revival, giving the 1904-P historical significance as a terminal-date issue. The obverse die, classified as III2 1, shows a thin die scratch running from the I in LIBERTY through the wheat leaves and over the tops of the cotton leaves in Liberty's crown, a diagnostic linear feature that helps confirm the specific die. The reverse die, classified as C4b, exhibits the variety's key feature: slightly doubled bottom insides toward the rim of the legend letters UNITED STATES OF AMERI, with doubled to tripled tops of the letters ATES OF AMERI extending toward the rim. This progressive pattern — where some letters show doubling and others show tripling — indicates multiple hub impressions with varying displacement, creating a complex overlay of design elements visible in the legend text. The reversed direction of the doubling — bottoms of letters doubled inward while tops are doubled outward toward the rim — suggests a tilting mechanism during the hubbing process. Phil Perdue's 2008 discovery of this variety, more than a century after the coins were struck, illustrates the depth of ongoing VAM research on Morgan dollars. The doubled reverse legend, while requiring magnification to fully appreciate, provides clear attribution markers across multiple consecutive letters of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA inscription.

External References