1882-O VAM-24

Description

Discovered by Bill Deterline in July 1978, VAM-24 of the 1882-O Morgan Dollar carries the designation 24 III2 16 · C3k with rarity I-2, R-3. The obverse displays doubling on the 2 at the right side of the knob, with die chips and polishing lines in the upper loop and bottom of the lower loop. The reverse features a mint mark set left and tilted left. However, this variety carries an important cataloging caveat: VAM-24 as originally listed does not exist in its described form — all specimens previously attributed as VAM-24 are actually VAM-25. The confusion stems from overlapping die descriptions: VAMs 24 and 25 share the same obverse description, while VAMs 24 and 23 share the same reverse description. The distinction between VAM-24 and VAM-25 rests on differences in the center opening appearance of the mint mark, despite both having the mintmark positioned identically. The New Orleans Mint produced over 6 million Morgan Dollars in 1882, and the intertwined attributions within this group of VAM numbers illustrate how complex die marriage classification becomes when multiple dies share similar characteristics.

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