1891 $1 VAM 2 Doubled Ear TOP 100 MS65 Certification #83147481, PCGS #133935

Ron Guth

The 1891 VAM 2 Dollar shows doubling along the bottom edge of Liberty's ear and along the bottom edge of the hair that covers the top of the ear.  This clear doubling earned this variety a spot among the Top 100 VAMs, a designation that includes all of the most popular, desirable, and valuable VAM varieties in the Morgan Dollar series.

This variety is scarce, but not particularly rare.  PCGS alone has certified over 140 examples (as of March 2012).  The PCGS CoinFacts Condition Census includes both MS64 and MS65 grades, with none finer.  Prooflike and Deep Mirror Prooflike examples of the 1891 VAM 2 are extremely rare.

Later die sates of the 1891 VAM 2 Doubled Ear begin to show a die break in front of Liberty's upper lip, ultimately giving the appearance of a moustache.  This die state is known as VAM 2A, and it is considerably more rare than the early die state VAM 2.