I've got myself a discovery coin! The 1897 Morgan I posted here about a few times that was like a thorn in my side because I try to identify the VAM prior to slotting it into my albums turns out that it was a previously-unlisted VAM. Well, now it's attributed and listed on VAMworld as VAM-16! I figured the date would be something specific to identifying the existing VAM but was striking out every single time I tried to figure it out once and for all. As it ends up, this was unlisted so I was wasting my time and energy repeatedly. I'm glad I was able to get this verified (by John at VSS, as well as John at ANACS) and to contribute even in the most miniscule way to the hobby! And yes, I am aware this wholly negates any sense of anonymity as my name is plainly on the page as the discovery coin, but I think it's worth it to be able to help this community out and advance the VAM page ever so slightly.
Kudos to you! Very nice. I applaud your perseverance and tenacity. This is how you do it. Stick to your guns when you know you are right. Now I need to check my Morgans. Mighty fine discovery, Matt…Spark
Glad you posted it. I was going to ask you to do so on another thread but I forgot to. This is awesome. Hopefully you get published in a TPG registry, you never know how much your find is worth. What was the grade? I recently acquired a 1887 O PCGS MS 62+ that has pickup points of VAM2, Top 100, but not all of them. EDS and LDS drive me nuts. I'll probably start another thread sometime soon, don't want to distract from your discovery.
Not graded yet, as I haven't received the coin back from VSS yet. He just received it yesterday afternoon and had it listed by the evening! That's incredible, if you ask me, especially in comparison to the TPG of late. I may very well be prepping a selection of coins to send in to ANACS for grading, now that I've got something that they will certify as the "discovery coin" with the paperwork that will accompany it. I'm curious as to which TPG will recognize and certify this with the according papers (be it from VSS, ANACS, or CONECA) and slab it accordingly.
Go ahead and post it here if you want, I won't feel offended at all! I wouldn't have gone through the process of this whole thing without some exposure and affirmation from others, so put whatever you want on this thread! Personally, i enjoy trying to identify VAMs but it's much easier in-person, I think.
Thank you! It really drives me crazy when I can't identify a VAM so I felt like I was taking crazy pills with this one.
Matty! Very nice! Just wondering, who decides what a top VAM is? Obviously, it's nothing to do with rarity of the abberation.
That's awesome Ragrets. Not many people can claim discovery attribution. I'd like to meet or talk to John sometime, he knows his stuff. Did you have any phone conversations with him? I have more stuff I'll eventually send him. His turnaround is super quick.
It was crazy fast turnaround time! Like... he had it confirmed that day and listed by the next day. And that included contacting anacs, too. I did not speak with him on the phone, only contact was through emails. But he was quick to respond and seemed a genuinely good fellow.
And yeah, I really didn't have all that much confidence that I had a discovery even with talking about it here and on CONECA. I've read quite a bit about the odds of it and, to say the least, they weren't in my favor lol! But I was floored when he gave me the news. It'll appear in the 2024 VAM supplement. I do wonder how this will progress through the TPG's (specifically pcgs and ngc, as they have a huge market share) and if/when they start assigning it as a variety. I just let my pcgs membership lapse () recently, but I'm not sure exactly what they'd require for a discovery VAM anyways. I guess I have some more research to do before deciding to join any graders!
I think ANACS would easily credit it as a discovery coin on their label. The other two, you can see on VAMWorld how few of them PCGS and NGC even designate, let alone a new one. ANACS claims to designate all of them, as does ICG.
PCGS and NGC care little about VAMs unless they are forced to by the market.They don't even recognize 95% of the attributions, nor will label it as such. ANACS specializes in it, and will celebrate it. Sincere grats on your find, you should be very proud about your contribution to the hobby.
ANACS certainly will especially because, as you've stated, they certify a massive portion of them currently. I suppose time will tell for the other TPG's and if they decide to start labeling any.
Thank you! I really do feel like I've contributed something now, even if it's a miniscule Morgan VAM! I'm still happy about it even if it fades into nothing lol
