VAMs are just the variety designations of Morgan Dollars - like any other die pair based varieties (as opposed to varieties only identified for specific "mistakes" or features), some have added value and others not. I believe yours falls into the latter category, albeit an interesting example of one.
My apologies, I know I posted this a few months ago. It is one of my favorite Morgans. It is so pretty and full of luster!
If you check ebay, even unattributed 91cc's, you will find that the majority are v3's. They are that common. But a very popular entry level VAM, and a CC list VAM to boot. Now, the v7 far date spitting eagle, by comparison, is close to hens teeth but they are out there. I have 2 myself. A low grade and an AU details both cherrypicked raw and the AU one the dealer called a v3 which is typical. Unless you are a dedicated VAMmer you see the "spit" and just assume its a v3 99 times out of 100. The v7 went unnoticed even by the VAM community until very recently when someone sent one to @messydesk and he had to do a double-take on the date placement. That should tell you something about preconceptions. And if you'll notice, the v7 has multiple discoverers. It's quite a nice story of the VAM community coming together and pooling resources
Yes. It's a bag hit. Remember, the obverse runs the grade on morgans. With such a clean obverse and really only that one decent sized hit on the reverse it is accurately graded.
The most common 91-CC VAM. I've said before that if I were given 5 minutes to find a specific VAM of my choosing at any large show, I'd pick the 91-CC VAM 3.
It's not a good scratch lol. The wing tip at 10:00 is also worn. That's what keeps it from 66. I guess??
I think the wing is artifacting from a slightly tilted die, rather than "wear." Note the surrounding letters are affected as well. Hard to tell what kept it from 66; some of the most important areas of the obverse are washed out a bit and unavailable for evaluation. That one scratch probably isn't enough to keep it from 66, but it would sure put a burden on the rest of the coin to be outstanding.
Interesting... I personally believe it could of been graded MS 66. Although, It's no big deal. Like I've told everybody. It's the best looking ms 65 Morgan I've ever seen. I'm not just saying that because I happen to own it.