I was originally just wondering about the X, but the general consensus is that it is damage. I do believe it is authentic and now that the near date has been pointed out, I have been looking at the near date VAM numbers. It's pretty well worn so I'm going to give it back to my dad and point him to the examples of VAM numbers listed for the 1887-O with near date. I appreciate all the help everyone has given me with this.



















