1878-P VAM-44
Contents
1878-P VAM-44 7/8 Tailfeather Tripled Blossoms
Discovered by Guy Messing, January 1974. Obverse discovered by Francis Klaes, June 1963.
This coin is a Top 100 Morgan VAM as well as a 2011 John Roberts 11.
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44 II/I 37 B/Ad (3 TF) (179)
Obverse II/I 37 - LIBERTY doubled slighty w/ BER showing faint shadows on right side. First star on right & number 7 on left doubled. Cotton blossoms & leaves tripled on right side.
DPIS – In 1878 dates were part of the master die so there is no variation in position.
- Emission Sequence
- Obverse:
- Reverse:
Comments:
- RARE
- An amazing variety that, based on recent sales figures, is becoming a "must-have" for all serious Morgan dollar collections. The problem? Only about 70 are known and the demand is for far more than that! 1878 VAM-44 has a doubled die obverse and a double die reverse. It is considered the “King of VAMs” by many collectors. The VAM-44 obverse has one of the most clearly defined Tripled Dies in the Morgan Dollar series. The leaves and cotton bolls are dramatically tripled. The reverse has a 7/8 tailfeather reverse, the long nock on the arrow shaft can be seen along with “weak” tailfeather tips showing, 3 to 5 depending on the strike and how hard you look. There is more dramatic doubling of both of the eagle’s legs. This variety is tremendously sought after by collectors and XF to low-end AU specimens can command several thousand dollars. The reverse of this coin is shared with VAM-33 (a very common coin) so whenever you see the doubled eagle’s legs on the reverse be sure to check the obverse leaves and cotton bolls for doubling that marks the VAM-44. The late die stage is clashed and these images can be viewed under 1878-P VAM-44A.
Threads:
LVA Plate Photos
See 4th Edition of "Comprehensive Catalog and Encyclopedia of Morgan & Peace Dollars"
Additional Photos
Full Coin Photos
Large Full Coin Copyrighted© VAM-44 Images on loan to VAMworld courtesy ©[Heritage Auctions] ATTRIBUTED BY John Roberts at ANACS
'John Roberts, is the Director of Attribution Services at ANACS, a prolific writer of coin articles for Coin World magazine and numismatic books. 'He is a longtime collector of Morgan dollar varieties and is considered an expert in attributing Morgan varieties. We're very fortunate to have him contribute in this forum as- 
http://www.wikispaces.com/user/view/vampicker
PCGS does not attribute 44A
5/2018
- The Top 100 Morgan Dollar Varieties: The VAM Keys Copyright 2009 RCI. With permission from the authors Michael S. Fey, Ph.D., [http://www.rcicoins.com], and Jeff Oxman, [http://www.vamlink.com]
