1879-P VAM-101

Description

Discovered by Mark Witkower in 2018, VAM-101 of the 1879 Philadelphia Morgan Dollar carries the classification III2 90 - C3a and the descriptive title "Doubled 1-9." The obverse exhibits doubling on the date digits 1 and 9, with the 1 doubled at the very top of its vertical stroke and the 9 showing slight leftward displacement outside both loops of the numeral. This doubling pattern — concentrated on specific date digits rather than distributed across the entire obverse — suggests a localized hub misalignment that primarily affected the lower portion of the die where the date was positioned. The obverse die marker consists of vertical polishing lines visible at the left end of Liberty's cap ribbon, indicating post-hubbing die maintenance that left telltale linear marks on the die surface. On the reverse, classified as C3a, the die marker of polishing lines in the wing-neck gap (the area between the eagle's wing and neck on George T. Morgan's heraldic eagle design) provides a secondary attribution checkpoint. The 1879-P Morgan Dollar was struck at the Philadelphia Mint from 90% silver planchets weighing 26.73 grams with a diameter of 38.1 mm. Philadelphia's 1879 mintage of 14,806,100 Morgan Dollars represents a moderate production figure for the series, and the high VAM number (101) reflects the extensive ongoing cataloging effort that continues to document new die marriages and varieties for this actively collected date. Morgan's obverse portrait of Liberty with her Phrygian cap and the reverse heraldic eagle design form the framework within which these die varieties are identified and classified.

External References