1885-O VAM-2

Description

Discovered by George Mallis in July 1964, this 1885-O Morgan Dollar variety — classified as VAM-2 under designation III2 2 / C3a with Rarity-(181) — features a doubled 5 across the top of the final digit in the date. The doubling on the 5 is stronger than that seen on 1885-O VAM-21, which exhibits a similar but weaker version of the same feature, and the catalog notes that this date sets to the left more than VAM-21. George Mallis was a foundational figure in Morgan Dollar die variety research, and his discoveries in the 1960s — well before the Van Allen and Mallis collaboration formalized the VAM catalog in the 1970s — represent some of the earliest systematic documentation of Morgan Dollar die marriages. The New Orleans Mint struck 9,185,000 Morgan Dollars in 1885, a substantial production run that consumed numerous die pairs. The doubled 5 on the obverse indicates a misalignment during the hubbing process that affected the final digit of the date, a relatively common location for doubling as the date area sits near the rim where hub-to-die alignment variations are most pronounced. Cataloged by VAMWorld, this variety has been tracked by collectors for over sixty years since its initial discovery.

External References