Is the spitting eagle quarter a VAM? Or is this term reserved for Morgans? I had the spitting eagle 83 P quarter in low unc but sold it on ebay for 50. It was pretty cool to own. But most of these other varieties for Morgans I yawn at. Whenever I see that VAM dealer table at a coin show, I walk right past it
Yes the term VAM is reserved for minor die varieties on Morgan Dollars, you're mixing up stuff 1891-CC Morgan "Spitting Eagle" VAM http://www.vamworld.com/1891-CC+VAM-3 1983-P "Spitting Eagle Quarter" https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/3480/Spitting-eagle-1983-P-quarter/ Get the "VAM bible" and thou shalt be enlightened ;-) http://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-Catalog-Encyclopedia-Morgan-Dollars/dp/0966016823
No, I couldn't care less about VAMs. O-numbers on CBHs, now...that's a different story. They're actually interesting.
Hey, don't forget peace dollars. And some are major varieties. As well as its true nature of simply confirming die pairs. That's what's it's truly all about, cataloging die pairs and their features for future collectors and researchers
True, of course there are major varieties, too. I just tried to answer Joe's question about the Spitting eagle, that's why I didn't mention Peace dollars...
Die marriages on early coins with much lower mintages and low survival rates with hand cut dies yes. Their interesting. Morgan dollars with mintages in the tens of millions and huge survival rates in mint state no their boring which is why with Morgan's I'm far more interested in beautiful toning which makes each coin unique
Funny cuz I see it exactly the opposite. With the abundance of morgans, it's more of a challenge with a better ability to add to the body of work