1878-CC Morgan Dollar VAM-24 Doubled Leaves: How It Differs From VAM-6 and VAM-18

The 1878-CC VAM-24 is a Top 100 Morgan VAM discovered by Jeff Oxman in July 1984. NGC recognizes it. It is the third of the 1878-CC "doubled leaves" varieties, alongside VAMs 6 and 18.

How to identify it

• Obverse: doubled cotton leaves and bolls on the right side, and a doubled eyelash at the top. There is no horizontal die gouge right of the cotton boll, which is present on VAMs 6 and 18. Die chips sit in the bottom of the first 8, and the lower right of the last 8 is not doubled.

• Reverse: a vertical die scratch in the eagle's left wing, opposite the neck-wing junction. The CC mint mark sits with its right side aligned to the curve of the bow to the left of the bow knot. A dot of metal in the left C of the CC is present, which VAMs 6 and 18 do not have.

• Late die state: die gouges and die polish in the lower reverse, and a chip between TE of STATES.

What buyers and collectors should know

The date is not doubled on VAM-24, unlike VAMs 6 and 18, so a quick look at the date helps with sorting. The fetched page notes that VAM-18 is actually the toughest of the three to find, even though the Top 100 book stated VAM-24 was rarest. That is a useful reminder for buyers: confirm attribution rather than paying for the reputation of a number.

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