1896-P VAM-25

Description

Discovered by George Powell in October 2006, the 1896-P VAM-25 Morgan Dollar features a slightly doubled profile from the nose down to the chin, combined with a date set further left than the normal lateral position. The VAM classification III223 - C3a (Doubled Profile, Near Date) (190) documents both the obverse doubling and the positional date variant. The doubled profile — visible as a secondary outline along Liberty's nose-to-chin line — indicates the die experienced either a hub doubling event or a clash that produced a secondary impression of the facial profile. The "near date" terminology, combined with the description of the date being set "further left than normal," describes a date punch position closer to the left rim than the standard placement. The 1896 Philadelphia Mint struck 9,976,762 Morgan Dollars, approaching the ten-million mark in a year when silver dollar production was mandated by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act's successor policies. George T. Morgan's obverse portrait of Liberty features a classical profile with detailed hair, coronet, and wheat ears that provide numerous diagnostic surfaces for hub doubling detection. The nose-to-chin area is particularly effective for doubled die attribution because the clean, curved profile line shows even slight displacement with clarity. VAM-25 as the twenty-fifth documented die marriage for 1896-P demonstrates the maturity of VAM research on Philadelphia Mint Morgan Dollars, where decades of collector examination have populated extensive variety catalogs.

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