1887-O 7/6 Overdate

The 1887-O 7/6 Overdate is the New Orleans companion to the 1887 Philadelphia 7/6 Overdate, struck from 1886-prepared working dies that had been re-engraved to 1887 and shipped to New Orleans. The variety belongs to the same 11,550,000-piece 1887-O mintage and is catalogued by Van Allen-Mallis with specific VAM listings. The 7/6 sits among the popular overdate varieties in the Morgan series, with the New Orleans subtype somewhat scarcer than the Philadelphia counterpart because the O-mint dies saw heavier wear that obscures the underlying digit more often.

Authentication of a 7/6 claim turns on the third digit of the date. Under five to ten power magnification, the underlying 6 remains visible inside or below the 7, with the curve of the 6's upper loop protruding from the 7's lower area. The 1887-O 7/6 examples typically show the underlying 6 less clearly than the 1887-P 7/6 because of the cumulative O-mint strike issues; verifying the variety on a circulated 1887-O therefore requires good die-state preservation alongside the date detail. PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC attribute the variety in their slabs.

The 1887-O 7/6 Overdate is a popular series Variety pickup that pairs with the 1887 Philadelphia 7/6 Overdate in collections targeting the year's overdate progression across the two operating mints. Pricing trades at a meaningful premium over the standard 1887-O across all Mint State grades, with the gap widest at MS64 and above where the cumulative strike issues and the variety premium compound. Most certified examples grade MS62 to MS64. Certified slabs from PCGS or NGC with the VAM attribution noted on the holder are the standard purchase route at any meaningful price level, since variety counterfeits and misattributions both circulate in the raw market. The Van Allen-Mallis attribution system catalogues every documented Morgan die marriage, and the Top 100 Morgan VAM register identifies the most-collected varieties for specialist collectors. For the broader late-1880s overdate context, see the Morgan Dollar series history.