1879-O VAM-31

Description

Discovered by Herb Zepke in April 2000, the 1879-O VAM-31 Morgan Dollar carries the classification III2 23 - C3j (Doubled Left Stars and 9, Doubled Left Reverse) with die pairing number 176. The obverse (III2 23) presents slightly doubled left stars with the displacement directed toward the rim — a centrifugal doubling pattern where the secondary hub impression shifted outward, causing the doubled star images to appear on the rim-side of the primary stars. The upper loop of the 9 in the date is slightly doubled on the left outside, adding a date diagnostic to the star doubling features. The reverse (C3j) shares the same hub doubling pattern as the VAM-30 C3i reverse but is distinguished by a type II O mintmark set high and tilted left — a hand-punched position variant where the New Orleans mintmark sits above the standard location and leans to the left, creating the unique reverse identifier that separates VAM-31 from VAM-30 despite their shared hub doubling characteristics. This shared reverse hub doubling between VAM-30 and VAM-31 indicates both reverses were produced from the same doubled working hub, with their individual mintmark placement being the distinguishing feature added later during die manufacture when the O was hand-punched into each working die. The Morgan Dollar was designed by George T. Morgan and struck at the New Orleans Mint in 1879 in 90% silver at 26.73 grams with a 38.1 mm diameter. The 1879-O had a mintage of approximately 2.9 million pieces. Zepke's April 2000 discovery expanded the 1879-O die marriage catalog with this pairing that combines obverse star and date doubling with the distinctive high-tilted-left O mintmark, providing collectors with both obverse and reverse diagnostic features for confident attribution of this variety.

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