I'm a newbie - inherited a coin collection. Die gouge above Eagle's left foot? Is this a VAM?

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

That sounds fun to inherit a collection. May I ask what type of coins, and what your favorites are?

 

First, welcome to the neighborhood @Sawsdad !

All Morgan and Peace dollars are VAM's. It's just that some have yet to be discovered. That's not a die gouge. If it were, it would be raised on the coin. Instead, I believe it is a strikethrough. Note that the mark extends to the left side of the leg as well.

Chris

 

Hi Daniel,
It's a mixed bag of many types ... pretty much everything. A TON of circulated coins but 100-200 of purchased coins: Morgans/Peace Dollars, ... some gold coins, Ikes, Franklins, Kennedy halves, etc. Problem is they're graded by the coin dealers who sold them so no PCGS/NGC ... only one ANACS in the bunch. Trying to figure it out.

Thanks

 

Thanks Chris,
I looked at Vamworld and navigated through their flowchart but did not see that strikethrough on any of the specific annotations. Does that mean it's nothing? Also, b/c the leg is intact (in front of the gouge) does that mean something happened in the striking process before the die made contact?

 

It doesn't necessarily mean that it is unimportant. You have to realize that a strikethrough is a one-time occurrence, and there won't be other coins with that same anomaly.

It's not a major strikethrough, but if you want, you can always submit it for attribution. I'd suggest that you let John @messydesk advise you on this. His knowledge of VAM's is outstanding, and he can even slab it for you. Note: I've tagged John so he will receive this post.

Chris

 

Ok Thank You Chris - nice to be a part of this forum.

 

I think ( Black Circle ) is a lamination ? Wouldn't that part
( Black Circle) be missing if it was a strike through ?

 

It looks like a small lamination. A strike-thru would have the detail on the leg missing, while a lamination would still show it, but with slightly diminished detail, after some of the metal had peeled off.

Striking or planchet errors like this one don't have any bearing on which VAM the coin is. VAMs refer to observable variations in the dies. As has been mentioned earlier, all Morgan dollars are some VAM, the trick is figuring out which one. This trick is especially daunting with 1881-S due to how they were struck and how the dies aged. There are only a couple 1881-S VAMs worth any premium, and you can tell those without much magnification (VAMs 1B and 54B). If I were to attribute this, I'd start with the mint mark. It looks a little high, and slightly tilted to the left. The date is the other place I'd look, but the date on 81-S can be a mess from striking, and that can hide stuff in the die.

 

Thanks John - I appreciate your input. I have 50+ raw uncirculated coins - Morgans, Peace, Ikes, Commemoratives, etc. - I'm trying to choose some to submit for grading. Obviously I'm struggling b/c I don't have a trained eye. Should I just choose based on Red Book value and recent comparable auction prices or some other criteria? Is VAM attribution worth the premium? NGC/ PCGS/ANACS?

I know that's a lot - any thoughts to guide a new collector would be meaningful. Thanks fot your help!

Scott

 

The best approach is to have someone look at the coins in person and let you know which ones are worth grading. If you can't easily do that, then if you post an overview picture of what you have here, we can fairly effectively point you to the ones that are worth the fees, or at least a closer look.

For VAM attribution, first a disclosure: I attribute VAMs for a fee. That said, most VAMs aren't worth any premium. That's just the reality of the concept of things being rare and extraordinarily desirable -- most things aren't. Some people like to have everything attributed, for example if they're studying all dies of a certain date or just like knowing all the details about their coins. Most people prefer to have the rare or interesting ones attributed. For the few that carry large premiums, the best bet is to have the grading service add the attribution, although I can do this as well, for those who prefer it.

Also, as a new collector, be aware that VAMs are a specialty (varieties) within a specialty (Morgan and Peace dollars). The best approach to starting collecting is to learn the basics -- grading, what determines value and price, general numismatic knowledge, detecting cleaned or problem coins, budgeting their hobby, coin show and auction strategies and etiquette -- before specializing in VAMs. To use the "crawl before you walk, walk before you run" analogy, specializing in varieties is parkour.

 

@messydesk How do you put an estimate on rarer vams? At the moment, I use completed auction listing to judge past prices. Then use rarity data and make a judgment call based on the number for sale on market. Is there a comprehensive list that makes this process easier? Or.. is this just something that comes more naturally with time/knowledge?

 

Your approach is currently as good as any. There isn't a comprehensive list at the moment, but the Society of Silver Dollar Collectors is going to try to integrate historical pricing data into the registry to make this easier. There have been price guides published in the past, but any price guide, especially in a thinly traded market, is subject to a lot of interpretation.