Visited 2 new shops yesterday... GLAD I did!!

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by jtlee321, May 22, 2022.

  1. jtlee321

    jtlee321 Well-Known Member

    I had a chance to visit 2 new shops yesterday that I'd never been to before. Both had quite a bit of inventory to look at, but as usual, I am drawn to the Morgan Dollars. The first shop had two Morgan Dollars that grabbed my attention, both raw and both circulated. Normally I gravitate to the graded uncirculated coins, but I have not done a variety hunt in a while. My strategy paid off. Here are the two coins I purchased from shop #1.

    1878-S Morgan VAM-56 Long Nock
    1878-S-Morgan-Dollar-Long-Nock-VAM-56.jpg

    1880 Morgan 80/79 VAM-6 "Spikes"
    1880-Morgan-Dollar-80-over-79-VAM-6.jpg

    The second shop was a bit closer to home, but I still had never visited it. They specialized in bullion, but had a good selection of numismatics to pick from. Again, my focus was Morgan Dollars. The first coin I picked up was a graded example in an NGC holder and the other three coins were all raw examples picked from the bulk tray's he had. Here are the coins I purchased from shop #2

    1887 Morgan NGC MS-64
    1887-Morgan-Dollar-NGC-MS-64.jpg

    1878 Morgan 7/5 Tail Feathers VAM-40
    1878-Morgan-Dollar-7-over-5-TF-VAM-40.jpg

    1899-S Morgan
    1899-S-Morgan-Dollar.jpg

    1921-S Uncirculated Morgan
    1921-S-Morgan-Dollar.jpg

    It felt good to get out and hunt like this. With the life changes I've experienced lately, I don't get to do this nearly as often as I used to. The 1921-S has simply amazing luster, which made it difficult to shoot without blowing out highlights. You can see the reverse has some blown out areas. Had I brought the exposure down, it would have made the coin appear darker than it actually is. The obverse is a bit on the baggy side, but for the price I paid, it does not bother me.
     
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  3. SensibleSal66

    SensibleSal66 U.S Casual Collector / Error Collector

    @jtlee321 . You certainly seem to know what your doing with these Morgans. I wish I knew more about them myself. Does Identifying the VAM make a coin more valuable? Sorry, I only own 2 myself:shame:. Bored and trying to learn more here in Sunny New England! Sal
     
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  4. ddddd

    ddddd Member

    Nice finds!
    Looking at the picture of the toned one (before reading or noticing the NGC logo), I first thought it was like the toning seen in some of the older small Anacs holders.
     
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  5. Mat

    Mat Ancient Coincoholic

    I'm not a fan of Morgans, but I really like the looks of the "Long Neck" & "VAM 40".
     
    jtlee321 likes this.
  6. Paddy54

    Paddy54 Well-Known Member

    Make no mistake about it JTlee knows his way around more than Morgans ...;) damn good cherrypicker... one of the best...
     
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  7. Paddy54

    Paddy54 Well-Known Member

    You better like the truth....LoL but yeah ill take the blame for the 38 D addiction...;) and I ain't talkin tattas... :)
     
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  8. jtlee321

    jtlee321 Well-Known Member

    Learning to VAM can be incredibly good for expanding knowledge. First, it will teach you a bit about the minting process and die pairing. Secondly, it will help you determine authenticity if you can match a know VAM. Thirdly, it can help you add some great coins to your collection, if you come across the harder to find and popular VAM's.

    Identifying the VAM does not necessarily make it more valuable. Every Morgan and Peace Dollar is a VAM. The VAM number is simply a catalog of known die states and pairings for each year and mint of Morgan Dollars. Some pairings and die states are very tough to find. If it is tough to find and is in demand to collectors, that is what will make it more valuable.

    Here is a website that you can visit for a lot of amazing information. VAM World 2.0

    http://ec2-13-58-222-16.us-east-2.compute.amazonaws.com/wiki/Home
     
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  9. jtlee321

    jtlee321 Well-Known Member

    I've just recently started going through my heard. I'm going to start thinning it out a bit. But yeah, I BLAME YOU!! LOL. They are fun and addicting, especially hunting for the unattributed D/D's and D/S's. ;)
     
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  10. jtlee321

    jtlee321 Well-Known Member

    Thank you for amazing compliment. I really had fun yesterday hunting. I miss doing it and I finally had the time to do it. :)
     
  11. Paddy54

    Paddy54 Well-Known Member

    Well it kept you off the street lol...J/K of course...we had some fun times pickin..considering we are what 5000 +/- miles apart... right coast /left coast...lol we had some fun times...thats for sure.
     
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  12. Paddy54

    Paddy54 Well-Known Member

    I like just for giggles get you, C-B-D and I maybe 2 others and hit a big show to see what we could find.
    John was at the Baltimore Whitman show when I picked a 91cc spiting eagle....in an old slab .
    I walked up to him at his table and handed him the slab...he like dang that a 91cc spitting eagle vam...im like oh???? I didn't tell him until the next day i knew all along... he makes his living now as a buyer.
     
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  13. jtlee321

    jtlee321 Well-Known Member

    That would really be fun! I'd have to go back over some of the coins I used to hunt for. I used to have a list of VAM's in my head that I would be on the look out for, but I have forgotten quite a few. They are starting to come back though. ;)
     
  14. Paddy54

    Paddy54 Well-Known Member

    John had to give up his ebay store when he took the new job...but either I message him or him me to look over his inventory to see if anything was shaking...
    John always found some nice stuff like this now in the Paddy collection C:WINDOWSTempA341 - 20201003_121452.jpg C:WINDOWSTempA339 - 20201003_120929.jpg s-l400-2.jpg
    Notice PCGS sort of messed up minor variety lol
     
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  15. Mainebill

    Mainebill Bethany Danielle

    Nice picks.
     
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  16. Paddy54

    Paddy54 Well-Known Member

    Thanks...I know your an old picker too.....takes one to know one lol....;)
     
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  17. Dave Waterstraat

    Dave Waterstraat Well-Known Member

    Nice picks Justin and excellent images as always! :)
     
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  18. BuffaloHunter

    BuffaloHunter Short of a full herd Supporter

    Nice coins, all of them, but that 1887 is a stunner!
     
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  19. jtlee321

    jtlee321 Well-Known Member

    Nice!! Half Dimes, Dimes and Trimes have been your specialty. Mine is more in the Morgan Dollar, Mercury Dime, Buffalo Nickel stuff. Together we could pick a dealer cleaner than a carcass on the Serengeti. ;)
     
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  20. jtlee321

    jtlee321 Well-Known Member

    Thank you and thank you for the help on the '87. I hadn't even tried it yet. LOL
     
    Dave Waterstraat likes this.
  21. Mr.Q

    Mr.Q Well-Known Member

    Nice pics, great buy, thanks for sharing. I love Morgans!
     
    jtlee321 likes this.
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