1878 Morgan Dollar - Reverse of 1878 - VAM-114

Description

Falling under the Reverse of 1878 strike type, this die marriage of the 1878-P VAM-114 Morgan dollar traces its discovery to Leroy Van Allen in December 1965. Like its Reverse of 1879 counterpart, it underwent renumbering from VAM 114.2 in 2011 back to VAM-114 in August 2022, carrying the II/I 16 obverse paired with a B2a reverse designated Doubled R and Stars. The obverse displays over-polished lower hair, while the reverse B2a die shows overpolishing that created a flat spot in the middle of the eagle's left wing, slight separation of the right wing from the leg, and a small die chip in the middle of the eagle's breast. The 1878 master die incorporated the date, eliminating any date position variation. The obverse is shared with 1878-P VAM-124. What distinguishes this listing is its assignment to the Reverse of 1878 subtype, identified by the slanted top arrow feather, an important first-year design characteristic. The 1878 Philadelphia Morgan dollars are keenly collected across all reverse subtypes, and VAM specialists track each die marriage under its correct reverse designation. =1878-P VAM-114= Discovered by Leroy Van Allen, December 1965.

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