1890-P VAM-26

Description

Bill Van Note identified this die marriage in November 1998, adding VAM-26 to the growing catalog of 1890 Philadelphia Morgan Dollar die pairs. Classified as 26 III225 C3a (Possible 1 in Denticles), the obverse die designated III225 presents an unusual diagnostic: what appears to be the top left portion of a numeral 1 showing in the denticle space below the 8 in the date, manifesting as a slanted bar that matches the angle of the top left of the digit 1. Whether this feature represents a partially effaced overdate, a transferred digit from a misaligned punch, or a die defect that coincidentally resembles a numeral remains a matter of interpretation among VAM researchers. Philadelphia struck approximately 16.7 million Morgan Dollars in 1890 under the final months of the Bland-Allison Act before the Sherman Silver Purchase Act took effect that same year, dramatically increasing mandated silver purchases. The 1890 date sits at this legislative transition point, making its die varieties historically situated at a pivotal moment in American monetary policy. Cataloged by VAMWorld under the Van Allen-Mallis attribution system, VAM-26 rewards careful examination of the denticle region below the date with a loupe or microscope.

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