1891-P VAM-11

Description

Discovered by Laurence Galbraith in July 2005, the 1891-P VAM-11 "Far High Date" Morgan dollar identifies an obverse die where the date is positioned further right and slightly higher than the standard placement for the 1891 Philadelphia issue. Cataloged as 11 III210 - C3a (Far High Date) with an unconfirmed die alignment designation, this variety pairs an Obverse III210 die type with a standard C3a reverse. George T. Morgan's silver dollar was produced at Philadelphia in 1891 with a mintage of approximately 8.69 million pieces, a moderate total that generated sufficient working dies to create meaningful date position variation. The Obverse III210 classification — a specific sub-type within the III2 family — distinguishes this die from other 1891-P obverse dies by the date's rightward and elevated positioning relative to the normal range established by the baseline VAM-1 entry. Date position varieties on Morgan dollars result from the manual process of punching the four date digits into each working die individually, and the cumulative effect of slight variations in punch placement across the four numerals produces measurable differences in the overall date position when compared across multiple dies. Laurence Galbraith contributed numerous VAM discoveries during the 2000s, particularly for the Philadelphia Mint dates where the absence of a mintmark focuses variety identification on obverse die characteristics like date position, date punch style, and die state features. The "Far High" designation combines two positioning descriptors — further from the design center (far) and above the typical vertical center (high) — establishing this date placement as anomalous in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions. Collectors can screen for this variety at low magnification by comparing the date position against known normal examples, looking for the date sitting noticeably rightward and elevated relative to Liberty's neck truncation and the surrounding design elements.

External References