When hobbyists give nicknames to coin varieties, you can count on three things: they are popular, easy to spot, and valuable.
Interestingly, two of the coveted Morgan dollar varieties are found on the obverse of 1888-O. The other two occur on reverses of the 1890-CC and 1901 dollars, respectfully. These four are also known by two other designations: DDO and DDR and VAM, which stands for “Van Allen and Mallis,” referring to a study by Leroy Van Allen and A. George Mallis of Morgan and Peace dollar die varieties.
Here are the VAM designations for the above nicknamed coins:
- 1888-O VAM 1B “Scarface”
- 1888-O VAM 4 “Hot Lips”
- 1890-CC VAM 4 “Tailbar”
- 1901 VAM 3 “Shifted Eagle”
Now let’s explore the diagnostics.
1888-O VAM 1B “Scarface”
The scar on the face of Lady Liberty was due to a die crack. Look at the E from “PLURIBUS” running across the face from the nose to the hair curls. PCGS has holdered about 75 of these, so this qualifies as a rarity, with values in the hundreds for fine through extra fine and in the thousands for almost uncirculated and low mint state. Check PCGS for latest prices.
1888-O VAM 4 “Hot Lips”
The doubling here is easy to see without a loupe and has three distinct marks: a doubling along the nose, a second pair of lips and chin. PCGS has holdered hundreds of these across all conditions. Hundreds more are out there undiscovered. Values are $100+ for F12 with thousands for low mint state samples. Check PCGS CoinFacts for latest figures.
1890-CC VAM 4 “Tailbar”
The tailbar is easily seen with the naked eye, descending from the bottom feather of the eagle to the wreath. PCGS has holdered 1,200 of these in various conditions, with hundreds of dollars for fine examples and thousands for low mint state. Check PCGS CoinFacts for updated retail prices.
1901 VAM 3 “Shifted Eagle”
The “shift” in the eagle is concerns doubling below the tail feathers. Values range from $100 in fine to thousands in almost uncirculated and above. Hundreds have been holdered across the Sheldon 1-70 scale. Check PCGS CoinFacts for latest values.
The best place to find Morgan varieties like this are in online auctions. You can go to the preferred online sellers tab of Proxiblog to access reputable sellers. Often auctioneers (and bidders) do not realize that they have a variety because they did not know how to identify them. That is why coin collecting requires continuous study and knowledge of articles like this.
Be sure to check the Proxiblog “error and variety” list to familiarize yourself with other errors and varieties across denominations.
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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.
