Usually I can discern the meaning of new words from their context, but there have been a few words I keep seeing on coin forums that I'm not quite getting: VAM; is this a designer's initials on Morgans, or a variety thereof ? POP; is this the number of defects on an uncirculated coin ? Dark Side; does this refer to collecting older coins ? Snipe; does this have a some meaning regarding bidding online for coins ? Any assistance here would be appreciated. These terms don't appear in my coin encyclopedic dictionary, either.
Although I don't collect Morgans, I understand that a VAM number is the number assigned to a particular die variety or combination by one of the authorities on the coin. This is short for "population", and indicates the number of examples of the particular coin which have received the specified grade from one of the major third party graders. "PCGS MS 63 POP 4, 2 higher" would mean that the coin is graded by PCGS as MS 63, which reports three others of the same grade, and 2 in higher grades. "The Darkside" (all one word) is the term applied to collecting world coins (non-U.S.) on another forum, which seems to be creeping into use here also. In that context "the Liteside" refers to U.S. coins and for obvious reasons "the Greyside" refers to Canadian coinage. "To snipe" is to enter a bid on an online auction within the final seconds, hoping that the other bidders won't have an opportunity to raise their own bids in response. Proponents believe that other bidders don't necessarily place their true maximum bids ahead of time, and can be ambushed by a snipe. Opponents argue that placing an early bid of your true maximum for the coin or other object is the surest way to win every auction in which the price does not exceed your personal top, without getting caught up in "auction fever" and overpaying at the end. IMHO both sides have some good points.
Since the VAM variety was mentioned, here is an interesting link for any that look for the listed varieties. http://www.vamlink.com/StartUpPage.htm
Thanks ! The one I was most puzzled about was Pop. I haven't seen "liteside" or "greyside" yet. A few years ago I was looking at Frequently Asked Questions on some web site, but they didn't seem to list corresponding answers ! It was then that I realized that what I needed was a site with Frequently Asked Questions With Answers, or maybe a site with Frequently Answered Questions.
There are so many terms floating around that most have given up on trying to list them all. Some of course change over time, and some even change within geographic regions. Most are easy to grasp and some are very specific to a particular group. All make our little hobby more interesting.
VAM stands for Van Allen Mallis after Leroy Van Allen and George Mallis. In 1964, Mallis published "A List of die varieties of Morgan Head silver dollars." He then teamed up with Van Allen in 1976 to produce The Comprehensive catalogue and encyclopedia of U. S. Morgan and Peace silver dollars. This work has gone through several editions. VAM numbers identify varieties of Morgan Dollars.
