1891-O VAM-10

Description

Discovered by Martin Field in April 1982, the 1891-O VAM-10 Morgan Dollar combines two positional variants: a slanted date with the left 1 set closer to the rim than normal, and an O mintmark set high and upright. The VAM classification III2 5 - C3e (Slanted Date, O Set High) (181) documents both characteristics and assigns this as a dual-attribution die marriage. The date slant — where the leftmost digit sits closer to the denticle border — occurred during the hand-punching of the date numerals into the obverse die, when the engraver's initial punch placement angled the date line relative to the horizontal baseline. The reverse shows the New Orleans Mint's O set higher than the standard position but without any tilt, indicating the mintmark punch landed vertically but above the typical centerline. The 1891-O was one of the final New Orleans Mint Morgan Dollar dates — only the 1901-O and the brief 1904-O issue remained before the series' initial cessation, and the New Orleans Mint itself would close permanently in 1909. New Orleans struck 7,954,529 Morgan Dollars in 1891, a moderate mintage. The "(181)" notation references the die pair identification number within the master VAM catalog. Martin Field, one of the pioneering VAM researchers, documented numerous Morgan Dollar varieties during the 1970s and 1980s, and VAM-10's 1982 discovery date places it in the early systematic era of New Orleans Mint Morgan variety research.

External References