1900-P VAM-4

Description

Discovered by Charles Wallace in April 1959, the 1900-P VAM-4 "Low Date" Morgan dollar identifies an obverse die where the date has been positioned closer to the rim than the standard placement on George T. Morgan's silver dollar design. Cataloged as 4 III2 3 - C3a (Low Date), this variety employs the Obverse III2 3 die classification, indicating the numeral 1 in the date sits closer to the rim than on normally positioned dies. Charles Wallace was among the earliest systematic researchers of Morgan dollar die varieties, and his discoveries from the late 1950s and 1960s laid essential groundwork for what would become the comprehensive VAM catalog system developed by Leroy Van Allen and A. George Mallis. Philadelphia struck approximately 8.83 million Morgan dollars in 1900, a moderate mintage that came near the end of the original Morgan dollar production run that would pause after 1904 before a brief resumption in 1921. Date position varieties on Morgan dollars result from the hand-punching process used to add the date to each working die individually — mint workers positioned a four-digit date logotype against the die face and struck it with a hammer, and variations in placement, depth, and angle between different dies created the diagnostic differences that VAM researchers catalog. The low date positioning on VAM-4 places the 1 measurably nearer to the denticles at the rim compared to the typical date location, a difference detectable by overlaying the date against reference images or using measurement comparisons. DPIS entries and emission sequence data for both obverse and reverse dies remain unlisted, awaiting further research documentation.

External References