What the heck is this on the reverse of a Morgan dollar?

I agree, it's a die crack.

 

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Here’s a good example of cracks

 

If you have a Morgan Dollar in your collection - you have a VAM. All Morgan Dollars are VAMS.

 

Did you read my last line? It’s in my last post. I have some VAM’s but I’m not a collector of them.

 

Your opinions are always welcome @charley to have and never irratating................well most of the time.................well some of the time not irratating.

All said with a big smile on my face!!

 

Meh. The obverse is pretty standard fare and actually kind of boring. No double ear from what I can see. But here's the thing........I've picked up 3 of these 11A vams since I've posted, and all in very good condition. I went dark on this subject until I won the auctions I was bidding on. I actually got a very nice coin for $41 in this buying spree. They will all go to ANACs to be graded and attributed. 1899 O is not a tough date, and high grades seem to be plentiful. But I'm curious as to how many in MS or AU are attributed with that designation. Apparently the NO mint needed new equipment that particular year.

 

Meh back at ya, and SHALOM.

 

Nothing sketchy here. Well, regarding the coin, anyway. VAM 25B. Fairly common one with lots of die cracks on the reverse. Doubled ear on Liberty probably from die fatigue.

 

I looked at the VAM site. There is another year from NO with the same die crack as well. I haven't looked into that year's documentation yet. But is the one we are talking about a VAM 11A (die crack on the reverse traversing almost the entire rim?

 

No. The coin you posted is VAM 25B. The die cracks are different from those on the VAM 11A.

 

Well I give up. I'm sending in several 1899 O die cracks on the reverse to ANACS. They can sort it out. I'm willing to pay for a correct analysis. I've got several with the crack all the way around the top rim. They may not be extremely valuable. but that will settle it. I really don't GAF about a doubled ear.

 

It’s an obvious manufacturing defect. Send it back to the Mint and insist on your money back.

 

At some point I'll send them back to Ebay with a markup in the future.

 

Question for you since you know this stuff, obviously I do not. If I send these in to ANACS for attribution, does it cost more for them to research or do I have to declare what it may be in advance for a set fee? I will tell you this, VAM world is the most contradictory place I've ever visited. Old VAMs are this, they are that, they've been eliminated and rolled into another VAM. It gives me a real headache, especially when there are variations and possibly two VAM conditions on a single coin. Thanks for your input, sincerely.

 

One more example for you. This is an 1896. You can trace the crack all around the legend on the left-hand side. It almost circles the coin.

 

New Orleans is pretty much "cracked", period. It's amazing how many die cracks they churned out. Are they even VAMs for that reason without other identifying marks? lol

Totally unrelated, but what in the name of all that is unholy is THIS Check the neck. LOL ??

 

The fee at ANACS is more if you have them do all the research -- something like $12/coin. If you say what you think it is and just want confirmation, it's less.

VAMWorld reflects the current state of the VAM catalog, which has been corrected non-stop since first being published in 1971. As more people have studied specific dates far more closely than had been done in the past, errors in cataloging have been found and corrected, resulting in some VAMs being renumbered and others being removed. The end result is a catalog that is more useful due to having fewer errors and being more complete.

The places to start on VAMWorld are the "What is a VAM" and "Attribution 101" pages. The site is an open wiki, which has been populated and updated by a cast of many since being first launched in 2006.

 

They're just a bunch of crackpots, pun intended.