From John Baumgart concerning new
VAM discovery.
October 27, 2010 Volume 7, Issue 19
1878
VAM 85 Discovered!
by John Baumgart
45 years.
For the first time in 45 years, a new die marriage for 1878 with a B1 reverse (long nock on arrow, VAMs 70-84) has been reported. It started as a posting on VAMWorld of pictures of an 1878 dollar with incredibly deep mirrors and a puzzled post from Kenneth Robb (VAMWorld member Bryan1315):
ok I have a problem here. I thought I knew every 1878 B1 reverse but this one really has me stumped. It has the Obverse of the VAM-80 but the Reverse of no other B1 Reverse I know of. Nothing matches up with any other B1 I have ever seen. The cracks are all wrong and actually the only thing that does match up is the disconnected leaf and the long nock.
Many on VAMWorld, myself included, initially passed it off as an early die state
VAM 80, as there were few obverse die cracks and very deep mirrors, but things took an interesting turn when a closeup picture of the upper tailfeathers was posted, revealing die chips that are not present on
VAM 80 and John Roberts responded saying:
I'd strongly recommend you send that to Leroy as soon as you can. If you have a
VAM 80 for a side by side comparison, I'd suggest you send it as well. Congrats are premature, but I suspect they are in order.
The coin was sent to Leroy Van Allen on October 22, along with prooflike
VAM 80 for comparison. Over the next few days, more and more convincing evidence of a new die was posted to the thread as VAMWorld members awaited Leroy's ruling. Other collectors examined their
VAM 80s and none found the same diagnostics.
RobJoyce: I checked both my
VAM 80s and they are the traditional one. Drats. Anyone else found another?
markinsd: I checked my VAM-80 but no luck.
BrianRaines: looks like I have an 80 and an 80a.
nesvt: I took an hour drive to my SDB, looked at the few B1 reverses I had, then drove an hour plus back home with a frown.
Then on October 26, the following news arrived from Leroy Van Allen:
NEW 1878 P B1 DIE VARIETY LISTING
In late October 2010, Kenneth Robb sent a nice condition PL 1878 P with B1 type reverse that had the II/I 6 obverse of
VAM 80. However, he pointed out that the reverse die didn't match the reverse die cracks of
VAM 80 and also didn't have the die chips on the eagle's right wing. Furthermore, the reverse die didn't seem to match any of the known B1 reverse listings.
Examination of the coin confirmed that the reverse die was a new variety combined with the
VAM 80 obverse die. So it is the first new die combination for 1878 P B1 reverse varieties since they were originally listed in Van Allen's 1965 booklet, Morgan and
Peace dollar Varieties. Some sub-varieties had been added for VAMs 80A and 84A in 2003 and 2006 for the clashed die letters. This is a major new variety find for the 1878 P 7TF varieties and has been listed as a new
VAM 85.
The sample coin had proof-like fields without any trace of die wear lines. But a peripheral die crack all around the [reverse] die would likely have caused early die retirement. The obverse die was an earlier die state than
VAM 80. So this die combination of the new
VAM 85 must be very rare to have gone undetected all of these years!
Die Characteristics
The obverse die shared with the
VAM 80 II/I 6 has a doubled motto, some stars, top wheat leaves and grains, last four letters in LIBERTY, cotton leaves, 878 and Phrygian cap fold. The doubled cap fold is a key identifier for this obverse die.
The unique new reverse die has over polished left three disconnected olive leaves and a small blank spot in the middle of the eagle's left wing. There is a vertical thread-like die impression at the tip of the eagle's right wing and another horizontal die impression at the upper right of the upper tail feathers. A good die marker is some raised die chips at the left side of the upper tail feathers. There is a strange raised "7" on the right leg of the A in STATES, probably from the die polishing.
A major new find that is very rare!
Celebration and congratulations ensued on VAMWorld.
Kenneth had been collecting VAMs for about 4 years and his main focus has been on B1 reverses for the past 2 years. As it is not only his first discovery coin, but also his first submission to Leroy Van Allen, it holds a special place with him and will remain in his collection "for a very long time." I asked about the waiting process after the coin was sent to Leroy, and Kenneth said, "I found it very hard to sleep waiting on the verdict, and after I received the e-mail yesterday from Leroy saying it was a
VAM 85 I was so excited I couldn't fall asleep until around 6:30 a.m., then woke back up at 8:00 a.m. and got online to make sure I hadn't been dreaming this whole thing up."
VAM 85 is the first die pair to use the II/I 6 obverse die, followed by
VAM 80, and then finally paired with an 8TF A2/A1 reverse for
VAM 22. Due to the length of time it took to be discovered given the scrutiny given 1878-P
Morgan dollars over the year, the deep prooflike surfaces, and the likely short die life of the reverse, it is currently assumed that
VAM 85 is very rare. The actual rarity of
VAM 85 will be determined as people report their luck in finding additional specimens. It should go without saying that collectors are encouraged to inspect their coins currently attributed as
VAM 80 to see if any are actually
VAM 85.
45 years ago, the
VAM Book was a mere booklet by Leroy Van Allen, your VAM-E editor had not been born yet, silver was just starting to be withdrawn from circulation, and the 1878 B1 reverses ended with what is now
VAM 84.
A lot can change in 45 years.
VAM 85 die chips in upper tailfeathers and thread impression (left) and disconnected olive leaves (right). Photos courtesy of Leroy Van Allen
VAM 85 "7" on lower right of A in STATES (left), thread impression near right wingtip (right). Photos courtesy of Leroy Van Allen
1878-P
85 II/I 6 • B1f (Dbld LIBERTY, Wheat Leaves & Grains, "7" Rev., Thread-Like Die Impression Wing) I-5 R-6
Obverse II/I 6 -- Earlier die state than
VAM 80.
Reverse B1f -- Short vertical thread-like die impression at tip of eagle's right wing and short horizontal one at top right of upper tail feathers. Die slightly over polished with left three leaves disconnected from olive branch and small blank spot in middle of eagle's left wing. Die marker -- Several raised die chips at left side of upper tail feathers. "7" on right leg of A in STATES. Die likely had very short life because early die polished proof-like state has peripheral die crack all around die.
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Posted 10/27/2010 9:13 pm
Thanks for the correction SuperDave! I always try to avoid gender specific words for just this reason. Messed up this time! haha
