1893-O VAM-3

Description

One of the earliest discoveries in the VAM cataloging system for the 1893-O Morgan Dollar, VAM-3 was identified by Leonard Hinckley in February 1974 and documents a slanted date variety where the digit 3 sits noticeably higher than the digit 1, producing a date line that tilts upward from left to right. The VAM classification "III2 2 - C3a" places this within the standard organizational framework of the Comprehensive Catalog, with the obverse designated as III2 2 (slanted date, date set with 3 higher than 1) and the reverse as C3a (mint mark centered and upright). The New Orleans Mint, which operated from 1838 to 1909, produced Morgan Dollars from 1879 through 1904, and the 1893-O is one of the more significant dates from this facility with a mintage of only 300,000 business strikes — making it one of the lowest-mintage Morgan Dollar issues. The small production run means fewer die pairs were employed, yet the slanted date of VAM-3 demonstrates that date placement irregularities occurred even at lower production volumes. The slant was likely introduced during the die preparation process when the date digits were punched individually into the working die, and the engraver's positioning of the final digit 3 landed higher than the preceding digits. Hinckley's 1974 discovery came during the formative years of VAM research, when Leroy Van Allen and A. George Mallis were building the comprehensive reference system that would transform silver dollar collecting. On a key-date issue like the 1893-O, each documented VAM variety carries additional significance due to the coin's underlying scarcity and collector demand.

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