Chasing VAM's

I have a full set of Peace dollars and all but three of the Morgans. I am trying to understand where they fall in the VAM listings. This on, 1923 D, has so many die cracks that it, to me, is impossible to designate. Is there a method to finding the VAM that makes it more friendly?

 

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It’s almost an impossible task on some of them.

 

I am at the moment trying to VAM a '23D. It has one of the longest lists of die breaks on VAM world. It is a matter of patience and repetitive checking of each entry. By looking at the headings for each section you can eliminate a whole chunk of them if your coin obviously doesn't have a cud or a break involving Y etc. But yours looks pretty distinctive with the break from Y through the hair bun and the break from lower hair strands to TRUST

 

Thanks. That is the process I have thinking about. Still very difficult.

 

And frustrating

 

Why did I start with the 23D? I have plenty more to start with as well as the Morgans.

 

I have 4 left to do and I am now wishing I had done the '23s first. Still got the 23d and 23s, and a 22d to go, and a 1901 0 morgan left to do

 

Wow, you got that many done. I will declare you the designated subject matter expert. I have only 5 or 6 of my Morgans done.

 

Not even close to expert,lol. You just get into a routine. I first study the coins and write down the cracks, breaks, clashes date and mintmark position. Date and MM by the way is the easiest way to eliminate a lot of Morgans on the list. When whatever batch i am doing are all recorded, it saves having to look at the coin each time. If a description sounds similar then I look a bit closer. Just my way but I find it easier

 

Thanks. I need a starting approach that I can tune as I go.

 

John Baumgart AKA @messydesk is the go-to guy for VAMs.

http://varslab.com/

 

The most time consuming Morgans are those without visible anomalies. These have to be checked against the die scratches/die scribbles section, Involves super close up and playing with the lighting as typically they are in the hardest to see places.

 

Agree. He is also the administrator of VamWorld. If you become a member you can get the benefit of some extremely knowledgeable vam collectors. They tend not to just give you the VAM, but will point you in the right direction as verifying them yourself is more rewarding

 

Thanks for the connection Chris.

 

I have 125 Morgans and have identified the VAM on 100 of them. I enjoy the process the best in the late evening, in the office when nobody else is home, and with several glasses of Woodford Reserve. I find it very satisfying when I identify a match.

 

Nice. How many different VAM designations have you logged?

 

Well, I think all of them. A lifetime goal has been a complete Morgan set. I am only short the 93s and 94. Technically, all Morgans are a VAM. So I think the 25 I have not identified are really a VAM1. I dont have many duplicate dates, except for the famous ones. For example, 4 for 1878 P: 8TF, 7TF rev of 78, 7TF rev of 79, 7/8 TF. The rev of 79 is VAM224. That took many Woodford Reserves lol

 

Stockholder in Woodford Reserves?

 

Is there value to doing all that work? Other than the fun factor.
Tim

 

No. I don't plan on ever selling anything. But, with the increase in mint prices and finishing over 72 years of collection, I will not buy any more mint products. I plan to terminate my sets at the end of 2020. I am searching out ways to work with my collection and improve presentation or upgrade where it makes sense.