1893-O VAM-5

Description

Discovered by John Paine in December 1986, VAM-5 of the 1893 New Orleans Mint Morgan Dollar combines two distinctive die characteristics: a slanted date on the obverse where the 3 sits higher than the 1, and an O mint mark tilted to the right on the reverse. The full classification is III2 2 - C3b, with the III2 2 obverse designation identifying the specific die position within the standard Leroy Van Allen and A. George Mallis numbering framework, and the C3b reverse indicating the tilted mint mark variant. Date slanting on Morgan Dollars results from the date logotype being punched into the working die at a slight angle — since each die received its date punch individually by hand, variations in punch angle were inevitable across different dies. Similarly, the rightward tilt of the O mint mark reflects the angle at which the mint mark punch was applied to the reverse die at the New Orleans facility. The 1893-O is a key date in the Morgan Dollar series with a mintage of only 300,000 — one of the lowest production figures for any regular-issue Morgan Dollar. This scarcity makes every die variety from the date notable, as the limited number of die pairs used constrains the total population of any individual VAM. VAM-5 carries the (181) rarity plate designation, and its dual-attribution features (slanted date plus tilted mint mark) provide collectors with two independent diagnostic points for identification. John Paine's 1986 discovery came during a period of expanding Morgan Dollar variety research that would eventually catalog hundreds of varieties across the series.

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