1882-P VAM-5

Description

Discovered by Leroy Van Allen himself in June 1966, this 1882 Philadelphia Morgan Dollar variety holds a distinctive place in VAM history — Van Allen is the co-creator of the entire VAM classification system alongside A. George Mallis. Cataloged as VAM-5 with the classification III2 5 - C3a, this variety is identified by a doubled 1 in the date, with doubling visible at the top right of the stem of the numeral. Additional diagnostics include the digits 882 partially filled at both the top and bottom, consistent with a grease-filled die or late die state, and the variety belongs to the closed-2 date style. The doubling on the 1 is a hub doubling characteristic, where slight misalignment during the hubbing process transferred a secondary impression of the date numeral onto the working die. That this variety was identified by Van Allen during the earliest years of systematic Morgan Dollar die study gives it historical significance within the collecting community. The 1882 Philadelphia issue was produced in large quantities, but specific die varieties with identifiable hub doubling remain sought after by VAM specialists building comprehensive date-and-mintmark sets.

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