You're all welcome to post some VAM's for others to guess. I was trying to make them somewhat easy so others wouldn't get discouraged, but it appears that nobody else is interested. Chris
There are a lot of choices on this one, since there are a bunch of different VAMs that use the same reverse, but I am going to take a shot and say VAM 5. I think VAM 5 came after 5A and the state of the polish lines/scratches on the photo match a bit better than 5A, but it is just a guess mike
Mike, here is one that I can't figure out. It is an 1878-S with the doubled eyelid, a vertical gouge on the eyeball, a notch in the base serif of the "B" in E PLURIBUS UNUM, minor doubling on the left side of "BER" in LIBERTY and the broken point of the 4th righthand star. It is a short nock reverse with the broken "r" in IGWT, die polishing lines inside the bow and minor doubling along the tops of the legend. But the thing that made this especially interesting for me is the die cip in the middle of her cheek. It looks like a space capsule from the Mercury or Gemini missions. The VAM-5 has a die chip on her cheek, but it is in a different position and doesn't look at all like this one. What do you think? Chris
That space ship is cool Don't think it is a VAM 5 since it say specifically that the 4th star is not broken. Since the reverse has the broken r like in VAM 5, does it also have the "wart" on the beak caused by a rust pit. If so, that would at least nail down the reverse. Mike
No wart on the eagle's beak. By the way, I forgot to mention that the space capsule must be in an asteroid belt because there are a few more "rocks" floating around on her face. LOL! Chris
I still don't know the Redstone-Mercury VAM so I'm posting a new one. Found this one hiding in a batch of silver purchased from an old time collector. The date is 1878. Since there are bazillions of 1878 VAMs here are a few photos to guess the VAM.
CPM, have you checked yours against VAM45? That could be a possibility. It also shares the same obverse die as VAM40 and 64, as well. 45 was the only 1 that I saw with the die gouge at the back of the eye, though. HTH.
How many of the stars, left and right, are doubled? Is there doubling any other places? I don't see any evidence of clashing on the reverse, so we can probably rule out any letter transfers. Chris
I don't have the coin in front of me right now. I don't remember how many stars are doubled. The obverse shows an over-polished L in Liberty along with the over-polished nose bridge & nostril. On the reverse there is a broken D in DOLLAR and the long nock. If I depict the entire obverse, you would see a characteristic at the date that gives it away.
