1887-O VAM-15

Description

Discovered by Martin Field in November 1978, the 1887-O VAM-15 Morgan Dollar carries the title "Doubled 1-87, Very Near Date" and is classified as III2 14 - C3a with a rarity rating of 181. The obverse exhibits doubling on three of the four date digits with varying intensities: the 1 is doubled at the top left of its lower crossbar, the 8 shows faint doubling at the top outside of its upper loop, and the 7 is doubled strongly across its very top — a pattern where the last digit received the most pronounced doubling. The description notes III1 14 as the obverse type, and the date is set much further left than normal, earning the "Very Near Date" designation — an intensified version of the standard "Near Date" that indicates the date position is shifted even more dramatically toward the left rim than typical near-date varieties. The 1887-O Morgan Dollar was struck at the New Orleans Mint with a mintage of 11,550,000 in 90% silver, weighing 26.73 grams at 38.1 mm diameter. The New Orleans Mint, the southernmost of the Morgan Dollar production facilities, contributed significant die variety diversity across its production years. The selective multi-digit doubling pattern, with its gradient of intensity from faint on the 8 to strong on the 7, is consistent with a hub displacement whose angular geometry produced different magnitudes of spread at different positions across the date area. George T. Morgan's Liberty head and heraldic eagle designs provide the framework for this date-position-doubling variety, and the "Very Near Date" characteristic offers an immediately visible diagnostic even before the doubling itself is examined under magnification.

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