Thoughts on this 1900 O being one of the private mint VAMs?

So I bought a bunch of Morgan's and peace dollars recently. After going through them I found a 1921 invariably Reeded edge variety but I also found a 1900 o which I feel may be 1 of the counterfeit VAMs. The coin seems off to me after closely checking it and the mint mark is clearly different. What do y'all think about these pictures? The only issue I have is I don't see any die marks between the U and M in UNUM. I'm not worried if it is 1 of these fakes since it will have silver content anyway and I'd probably keep it for the history side of it. Plus I've read they carry value of their own value because of that. I only paid a couple dollars over melt for it any how. Took the best pictures I could with my phone.

 

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More pictures.

 

It appears to be a genuine US Mint issue.
All the known VAM-listed privately-made 1900-O coins have die gouges at the "M" of UNUM and/or they have the C4 reverse hub type (wide gap between back of Eagle's neck and wing). The coin pictured has neither.

 

I don't think it's one of them. Not a match for other obverses paired with C3, and the design is a little too sharp.

 

Thank you for the help gentlemen I appreciate it. I'm new and still learning with the VAMs. Any thoughts on the mint mark looking the way it does? I've checked it against my other 1900 Os and it's def different. Post mint damage maybe?

 

Admittedly I go through pawn dealers junk boxes of Morgans looking for the VAM-5 example. Haven't found one yet, but hope is eternal.

 

Can you look at your wide reeds 21 and see if the eagles right talon claw goes below the arrow shaft or stops before it gets below the shaft. Thanks

 

Here some pictures of that area

 

There's some pictures of the die gouges above the S and T in states also. Sorry they aren't very good I'm working with only a cell phone camera. Since I'm enjoying finding these VAMs I'm going to eventually get myself some equipment lol.

 

Cascade, ever the home run swinger, was looking for VAM-44.

Since you've mentioned the enjoyment, I'll not attribute this one. It's easy anyway.

 

I am brand new though to collecting them but I'll do my best! VAM 27A

 

Agreed. This should be fun. Can't believe I said arrow shaft though. I_was busy but that's a rookie error lol.

 

I never even saw "arrow shaft." Knowing exactly what you were asking about, I think I filled in the blanks subconsciously.

Even though it isn't particularly uncommon, I'm always looking for those gouges on 1921's (I look at every_single_1921 on Ebay and most elsewhere). Those gouges near ST, along with the denticle beveling around OF, are your keys to finding IR 1921's if you're into them.

 

I def like picking them up it's a fun way to collect 21s since they are common and easy to come by. Keeps them interesting. Thank You for the info I'll be sure to keep my eyes open for them.

 

Just don't lose sight of the fact that there are very few 1921's from any mint which command any sort of premium for the variety even in Condition Census grade. They're a lot of fun - if you haven't figured it yet, I'm kinda obsessed with 'em myself - but part of the fun is they can and should be bought cheaply.

 

I can tell you def like them! I appreciate the heads up bc, honestly, I had no idea what the value of it is since I'm a newb. I only paid 16 dollars a piece for the Morgan's I picked up, which included these 2 in the group. I was quite happy I also got to pick through them all and cherry pick the ones I wanted based on condition, varieties, etc. I feel like I did pretty well at that price.

 

The 1900 looks to be original, but the 1921 is abrasively cleaned. You can see the parallel scratches all over the coin. The pair of them for $32 isn't a poor deal, I don't think.

 

I was worried it may be cleaned. I picked it bc I saw those gouges above the ST and the reeds on the edge. Oh well i still like the VAM. I got several others with these 2 also. Hopefully I did ok on the others.

 

The places I've circled are where it's particularly noticeable. These parallel hairlines are a feature to watch out for in the future. They won't always show up in imaging, and there's times you'll have difficulty telling them from die polishing lines (noted for 27A at VAMworld). It's no big thing for this coin, as no value was destroyed to speak of, and despite your best efforts at caution you'll still occasionally end up with hairlines you didn't think you were getting.

If you don't occasionally get saddled with a cleaned coin, you aren't taking enough chances.