1902-P VAM-15

Description

Discovered by Ken Heacock in April 2001, VAM-15 of the 1902 Philadelphia Morgan Dollar is classified as 15 III21 C4d and designated "Tripled Reverse Legend." The reverse die exhibits slight doubling to tripling on the bottom inside of most legend letters, particularly visible on the N of UNITED, ES of STATES, and MER of AMERICA. Tripling indicates the hub was impressed into the working die at least three times with slight positional shifts between impressions, each leaving a residual image appearing as extra thickness or secondary lines along affected letters. The C4d reverse classification and III21 obverse type provide die-pairing coordinates anchoring this variety within the 1902 Philadelphia VAM catalog. Tripled legends are less common than simple doubled legends because the conditions producing three distinct impressions — multiple hub applications with consistent slight misalignment — are statistically less likely than a single doubling event. The 1902 Philadelphia Morgan Dollar is the next-to-last year of original production before the series was suspended in 1904, and late-date varieties carry numismatic significance as part of the series' final chapter.

External References