1891-O VAM-15

Description

Discovered by Brian Raines in August 2002, 1891-O VAM-15 is catalogued as 15 III29 · C3a — Doubled Profile and Ear — with an R-5 rarity rating, estimating 31 to 100 examples known. The obverse III29 shows slight doubling on Liberty's profile and ear. The reverse C3a carries a small O mintmark with a short die crack from the wreath to the rim at 4 o'clock as the primary die marker. Profile and ear doubling on Morgan dollars arises from a misaligned second hubbing that displaces design relief along the portrait's outer contour. The New Orleans Mint operated throughout the Morgan series, and the 1891-O is a mid-series issue struck in 90% silver. At R-5 this variety falls in the scarcer tier of attributed 1891-O die marriages, and the 4 o'clock wreath-to-rim crack on the reverse provides a reliable confirmation marker beyond the primary profile doubling. Raines' 2002 discovery added VAM-15 to an already well-populated 1891-O census, where New Orleans die varieties have been systematically catalogued since the founding of the VAM attribution system.

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