1890-P VAM-25

Description

Discovered by Leroy Van Allen himself in August 2004 — the co-creator of the VAM cataloging system — VAM-25 on the 1890-P Morgan Dollar documents an unusual phenomenon: the top of the numeral 9 from the date protruding into the denticle border at the coin's rim. Cataloged as III2 24 - C3a with an interest level of (189), the obverse die shows a raised bar in the denticle space below and to the right of the 9, plus a short raised curved bar in the adjacent right denticle space — remnants of the numeral's upper loop extending beyond its intended position into the rim decoration zone. This "9 in Denticles" effect most likely arose during the die sinking process, where the date logotype was punched slightly too deep or too far toward the rim, causing the uppermost portion of the 9 to overlap with the denticle recesses. The die marker notation mentions diagonal polishing lines below the cotton bolls, providing an additional obverse attribution point. The 1890-P Morgan Dollar carries a Philadelphia mintage of 16,802,000, placing it in the mid-range of the series' production figures. Van Allen's personal discovery of this variety — decades after he and George Mallis first systematized Morgan Dollar die variety cataloging in the 1960s — demonstrates that even the most thoroughly studied dates continue to yield new varieties. The subtle nature of the "9 in Denticles" anomaly, visible primarily as thin raised bars in the denticle gaps rather than dramatic design displacement, likely explains why it escaped documentation until 2004 despite generations of Morgan Dollar specialists examining 1890-P coins.

External References