1891-P VAM-3

Description

One of the earliest-documented varieties in the 1891 Philadelphia Morgan Dollar series, VAM-3 was discovered by Edwin Miller in January 1970 and carries the designation 3 III2 3 C3a in the VAMWorld classification system. This variety is known as the Far Date, reflecting the defining characteristic of its obverse die: the date is positioned further to the right than the normal placement for the issue, giving it a noticeably wide left margin between the date and the rim. Within the date itself, the relative positioning of the two 1 digits is diagnostic — the second 1 stands measurably higher than the first, a feature resulting from the punch work used to individually set numerals in the date logotype during the era of hand-punched dates. The DPIS (Die Pair Identification System) entry for this variety is incomplete in the current record, reflecting an early documentation period before comprehensive reverse die cross-referencing was fully implemented. The 1891 Philadelphia Morgan Dollar had a substantial production run, and VAM-3 specimens share fields with large numbers of normal-date examples, making the rightward date shift the primary field-identification test. Collectors acquiring VAM-3 should closely compare date position against both normal 1891-P examples and other Far Date attributions to confirm the combination of rightward shift and differential 1 heights that defines this Edwin Miller discovery.

External References