1902-P VAM-3

Description

Discovered by Leonard Hinckley in February 1974, the 1902 Philadelphia VAM-3 "Very Near Date" Morgan dollar identifies an obverse die where the date numerals are positioned much further left than typical — the opposite extreme from far-date varieties. Cataloged as 3 III2 3 · C4a (Very Near Date) with a closed 9 in the date, this variety combines two diagnostics: the leftward date displacement and the style of the numeral 9 punch, which features a fully closed loop rather than an open gap at the top. George T. Morgan's Liberty head design positions the date below the neck truncation, where hand-punching of individual numeral dies into each working die created substantial position variability across the many die pairs used during a production run. Philadelphia struck approximately 7.99 million Morgan dollars in 1902, one of the lower Philadelphia mintages in the series' final decade before the cessation of Morgan dollar production in 1904 (preceding the brief 1921 revival). Leonard Hinckley's discovery in 1974 came during the early expansion of the VAM catalog, when researchers were systematically documenting the date position and mintmark placement variations that had previously been noted informally by collectors. The closed 9 diagnostic provides an additional confirmation checkpoint: when examining the 9 in 1902, the loop should appear completely enclosed without a visible break or gap, distinguishing it from dies where an open 9 punch was used. The C4a reverse classification identifies the specific reverse die pairing. Collectors should compare candidate coins against standard 1902-P date positions, looking for date numerals sitting noticeably closer to Liberty's portrait than normal, then verifying the closed 9 loop under 10-15x magnification.

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