1880-S VAM-37

Description

Discovered by Oscar Simpson in March 1977, the 1880-S VAM-37 is a Morgan dollar struck at the San Francisco Mint featuring doubled 80 digits in the date. Classified as III2 25 C3a (188), this variety is part of one of the most prolific date-mintmark combinations in the Morgan series, as San Francisco struck 8,900,000 silver dollars in 1880. Each coin weighs 26.73 grams with a diameter of 38.1 mm, composed of the standard 90% silver and 10% copper alloy mandated by the Bland-Allison Act. The obverse die, designated III2 25, shows the second 8 doubled faintly at the left bottom outside of its upper loop, while the 0 is doubled faintly at both the left and right outside edges. This type of date doubling on Morgan dollars typically results from a secondary hub impression during the die making process, where the hub was not perfectly aligned with the initial impression when re-entered into the die. The doubled date is subtle and requires magnification to fully appreciate, distinguishing it from the bolder doubled dates found on certain other 1880-S VAMs. The reverse is paired with a C3a normal die featuring a medium position IV S mintmark. An important attribution note recorded by VAMWorld indicates that this variety shares the same obverse die as the 1880-S VAM-63 and 1880-S VAM-124, meaning collectors can trace the life of this particular obverse die across multiple die marriages as it was paired with different reverse dies during the production run. These die linkages are valuable for understanding mint production practices and die usage patterns at the San Francisco facility during the early 1880s, a period when Morgan dollar production was a central activity of that mint.

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