1889-O VAM-19

Description

Discovered by Bill Van Note in February 2000, this New Orleans Mint Morgan Dollar variety is designated "Doubled Right Reverse" for the doubling visible on the right portion of the reverse design. Classified as VAM-19 III2 1 C3h with emission sequence number 181, the reverse carries the C3h designation describing slightly doubled letters of AMERICA, the right star, and the E of DOLLAR, all shifted towards the rim. The outer leaves of the right wreath also appear slightly doubled towards the rim, extending the displacement beyond the inscriptions into the botanical design elements. The rightward-and-rimward directionality of the doubling indicates the reverse hub shifted in that direction between impressions during die manufacture, affecting only the portion of the design where geometric displacement was detectable. New Orleans Morgan Dollars from 1889 are collected as products of the historic Southern branch mint, which had resumed coinage operations after the Civil War. Bill Van Note's identification of this doubled reverse expanded the 1889-O VAM catalog with a variety whose doubling, though slight, is diagnostically consistent across the affected design elements.

External References