1891-P VAM-9A

Description

Connecting cause and effect across both sides of the die pair, this 1891 Philadelphia Morgan Dollar displays a tiny die break at the top edge of the eagle's right wing — positioned next to a vertical die clash line that reveals the break's origin. The die break was caused by the clash itself: when the dies struck each other without a planchet, the impact created stress at the wing edge, and subsequent striking pressure propagated that damage into a fracture. This causal relationship is documented in the variety's classification as III29 with a C3a reverse. The obverse carries the doubled ear inside feature from the parent VAM-9, where Liberty's ear interior shows overlapping impressions from hub doubling. Discovered by John Coxe in July 2006, VAM-9A combines two distinct error mechanisms — hub doubling on the obverse and clash-induced die breakage on the reverse — into a single attributable variety. The 1891-P was among the later Philadelphia Morgan Dollar dates before the series paused in 1904, and die varieties from the final production decade carry the research attention that late-series issues attract from VAM specialists.

External References