1896-O VAM-7

Description

The 1896-O Morgan Dollar VAM-7 was discovered by Leroy Van Allen himself in June 1966 — one of the earliest documented finds in what would become the comprehensive cataloguing system Van Allen co-developed with A. George Mallis. Classified "Doubled 96, Near Date, O Tilted Right" with die pairing III2 4 - C3c (181), this variety stands as a direct link to the founding of modern Morgan Dollar variety collecting. Struck at New Orleans in 90% silver, designed by George T. Morgan. The obverse die (III2 4) shows the date set further left than normal — a near-date positioning — with the 96 doubled strongly at the bottoms of both digits. The reverse die (C3c) carries a medium O mintmark tilted slightly to the right, the die polish intensity scale value documented as LH3/RE4. Collector notes further indicate the mintmark is also set very high, an additional positional attribute not listed in the formal description. The near-date combined with doubled 96 at the bottom loops creates a visually confirmable combination. The 96 bottom doubling is usually the first feature identified under a loupe, with the tilted and high mintmark then confirming the attribution.

External References