1891-O VAM-11

Description

Discovered by Martin Field in May 1983 and revised in December 2013, the 1891-O VAM-11 Morgan Dollar carries the revised classification III2 6 - C3f (Near Date, Gouge Cotton Leaves, O Set Right) with die pairing number 181. The obverse (III2 6) features a date set further left than normal — the "Near Date" designation indicating proximity to the bust truncation — combined with a long broken diagonal die gouge passing through the right point of the cotton leaf below the cotton boll and continuing onto the left side of the lowest cotton leaf. This distinctive gouge through Liberty's wreath elements provides a strong visual attribution marker that can be checked without magnification on well-preserved specimens. The reverse (C3f) presents a type III O mintmark that is centered and upright but set slightly to the right of the standard position — the "O Set Right" component of the variety's full designation. Mintmark position on New Orleans Morgan Dollars is a primary classification criterion because each working die received its O mintmark through individual hand-punching, creating measurable positional differences across the die population. George T. Morgan's design was struck at the New Orleans Mint in 1891, one of the final years of the original Morgan Dollar production run before the series was suspended in 1904. Composed of 90% silver and 10% copper at 26.73 grams with a 38.1 mm diameter, the 1891-O had a mintage of approximately 7.95 million pieces. The three-component designation — near date, cotton leaf gouge, and right-set mintmark — provides a robust attribution framework with checkpoints on both obverse and reverse.

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