1889-O VAM-6

Description

A Top 100 Morgan Dollar VAM, this 1889-O variety carries prestige within the collector community and was discovered by George Mallis in July 1964 — placing it among the earliest New Orleans Morgan Dollar attributions on record. Classification is III2 3 C3f, and the name Doubled 18-9, O Set High succinctly captures its two primary features. On the obverse, the 1 is strongly doubled at the bottom of its shaft, and the 8 is strongly doubled throughout — most dramatically at the bottom inside of its lower loop. The 9 is slightly doubled at the top and strongly so at the bottom inside of its lower loop, an arrangement that makes the date doubling progressive in intensity across the three digits. When examining under magnification, the 1 should be checked first as a quick screener; if strong lower doubling is present there, proceeding to the 8 and 9 confirms the attribution. An occasional spike appears below the top crossbar of the 1, a die artifact that provides additional confirmation on specimens where it is present. The O mintmark is set high on the reverse. VAM-6 is easily confused with VAM-5, but the doubling on VAM-6 is substantially stronger than on VAM-5 — a distinction critical for accurate attribution. This 90% silver New Orleans dollar is listed in the Top 100 Morgan VAMs.

External References