1901-P VAM-10

Description

Discovered by Martin Field in April 1985, the 1901-P VAM-10 "Slanted Date" Morgan dollar documents an obverse die where the four date numerals are impressed at a noticeable angle, with the numeral 1 positioned closest to the rim. Cataloged as 10 III2 4 - C4a (Slanted Date) with catalog number 189, this variety reflects the inherent variability of the hand-punching process used to apply dates to Morgan dollar working dies at the Philadelphia Mint. George T. Morgan's design placed the date at the lower obverse beneath Liberty's bust, and the slant — with 1 nearest the rim and the remaining digits progressively further from it — indicates the logotype or individual digit punches were applied at an angle rather than on the horizontal axis parallel to the rim's curvature. Philadelphia struck approximately 6.96 million Morgan dollars in 1901, a moderate mintage for the waning years of the original Morgan dollar production run that would end in 1904 before the brief 1921 resumption. Martin Field contributed numerous variety discoveries to the VAM catalog during the 1970s and 1980s, helping establish the comprehensive die marriage documentation that distinguishes the Morgan dollar series from all other American coin types. The Obverse III2 4 classification pairs this slanted-date obverse with a C4a reverse die type, and the catalog number 189 places it within the sequential Morgan dollar VAM numbering system. Slanted dates are among the more visually accessible VAM diagnostics, as the angular positioning of the date can often be detected at lower magnification than many die-specific markers. Emission sequence data for both obverse and reverse dies awaits further documentation, leaving the production chronology for this die pair as an area for future research.

External References