1893 Dollar Coin Error List with Pictures
Extra edges below the stars helped identify an 1893 Morgan dollar that brought $6,000 in December 2023. PCGS records that Heritage result for a VAM-4 graded MS63, an unworn coin with noticeable marks.
This 1893 Morgan Dollar error list covers estimated whole-coin values of $350–$15,000. Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Carson City each have a different feature to examine.
Read on to find the relevant stars, date detail, and transferred design marks.
1. 1893 Morgan Dollar Repeated Edge below the Date’s 1 (1893-O)
The first digit of the date has a small extra edge beneath its upper crossbar. This is the New Orleans variety called VAM-4 Doubled 1.
VAM numbers identify particular Morgan dollar stamping-tool patterns. Here, the repeated date detail belongs to the tool, so it appears on coins made from it.
The O mint letter on the back tilts to the right and helps match the variety. Its tilt alone is not the error.
Wear can flatten the fine date detail. A thick-looking 1 or a reflection under its top bar needs closer comparison.
Estimated Value
For identified 1893-O Doubled 1 coins in circulated through nearly unworn condition, estimate $350–$5,000. This is a whole-dollar estimate that includes the scarcity of the New Orleans issue.
The small repeated edge may add collector interest when it remains clear. Heavy wear, scratches, or cleaning can make the feature less appealing and affect the coin’s overall price.
A fully unworn example needs a separate condition-based comparison rather than an automatic extra charge for the tiny line.
How to Identify
Begin at the date with a magnifier and look just below the top horizontal bar of 1. A thin second outline should follow that bar rather than appear as an unrelated nick.
Now inspect the O below the wreath on the back. Its rightward lean is a supporting match, and the Calkins illustrated collection shows the date and mint-letter features together.
Tilt the lamp while holding the dollar still to separate a real outline from glare. Avoid scraping around the digit or trying to brighten it with polish.
The variety should be identified from the repeated edge beneath 1, with the O used to check the matching coin.
2. 1893 Morgan Dollar Doubled Stars and Letters (Philadelphia VAM-4)
Look below the stars on both sides of Liberty. On Philadelphia VAM-4, extra outlines repeat their lower edges, with similar doubling on selected letters around the portrait.
The stamping tool carried these repeated shapes before it struck the coin. This is called a doubled die, with die meaning the steel tool that forms the picture.
The affected lettering includes E, P, L, R, and B in E PLURIBUS, plus the first U of UNUM.
This Philadelphia variety has no mint letter. It is different from the New Orleans date variety despite sharing the number VAM-4.
Estimated Value
PCGS records $6,000 in December 2023 for a VAM-4 graded MS63. Another example graded AU55, with light wear, brought $960 at Stack’s Bowers in June 2023.
An estimated $400–$10,000 spans worn examples through desirable unworn coins. The stars’ visibility matters, but so do marks, cleaning, and the strength of the original strike.
Neither result is a price for doubling alone; each buyer purchased the entire scarce-date dollar.
How to Identify
Check several stars on the left and right of the portrait, keeping the date upright throughout the examination. Use a magnifier to look for a second lower edge rather than merely a sharp star point.
Continue around the upper lettering and compare the specified letters with photographs of an identified 1893 Philadelphia VAM-4. The repeating direction across stars and letters is more useful than one isolated shelf that could result from movement during striking.
On the back, confirm that the mint-letter position below the wreath is blank, as expected for Philadelphia. Match the combined star-and-letter pattern to an 1893 example, since an 1896 variety also carries the Doubled Stars nickname.
3. 1893 Morgan Dollar Transferred Design Marks (1893-CC VAM-2A)
A faint fragment of the opposite design can appear where it does not belong. This happens when the two stamping tools meet without a blank between them and mark each other.
The tools then copy those unwanted marks onto later dollars. Collectors call the event a die clash.
Carson City VAM-2A is reported with clash features. A 2025 Heritage listing identifies one example with a transferred N on the front and CC tilted right on the back.
The tilted mint letters alone do not establish the clash. Nor does the VAM-2 name prove that a coin experienced two clashes.
Estimated Value
Heritage’s September 2025 auction listing records $2,520 for a VAM-2A graded PCGS XF45, a circulated coin retaining considerable detail. The description specifically notes its transferred front letter.
Estimate $1,000–$15,000 for identified circulated through nearly unworn 1893-CC clash examples. Carson City’s final-year dollar is valuable in its own right, so much of the range reflects the underlying issue.
A vague scratch or tilted CC without a matching transferred feature does not earn a separate clash allowance.
How to Identify
Photograph both faces with the complete portrait and eagle visible. Before naming a faint mark, ask which part of the opposite design could have produced its shape.
For VAM-2A, compare the transferred N with clear photographs of an identified example. Match its shape and the surrounding portrait details rather than treating every small line as part of a letter.
Use a magnifier and low side lighting to follow the outline. A random scratch usually cuts across the surface without copying a recognizable letter shape.
Check the CC mint letters as supporting evidence after examining the transferred feature.
The useful match is the actual letter trace and its surroundings, not a catalog number or a general impression of doubling.
Conclusion
Estimated whole-coin values range from $350 to $15,000 for the varieties and conditions discussed here. Scarcity of the underlying 1893 issue accounts for much of those amounts.
Match the mint before comparing a small feature. Philadelphia’s doubled stars, New Orleans’ doubled 1, and Carson City’s clash marks are separate checks.
A tilted mint letter helps locate a known pattern, but does not replace the actual error feature.