There was a Morgan offered on Heritage with the following description: 1880-O $1 Hngnail AU58 ANACS. Top-100. Vam-1A. NGC Census: (771/5077). PCGS Population (850/6129). Mintage: 5,305,000. Numismedia Wsl. Price for NGC/PCGS coin in AU58: $31. I made an assumption that it's a coin with rim damage of some sort. However since I wasn't sure I never bid on it. It was slabbed and in the pics I couldn't see any visible damage to it. I've looked at various online sites as well as Heritage and was unable to find any info as to what exactly Hngnail means. BTW it went for $56 total including the $14 buyers premium, so somebody liked it. Just not me. Thanks
It's one of the top 100 Morgan VAMs, the "hangnail" is the result of a die gouge on the reverse of the coin on the eagle's tailfeathers. Here's the link from VAMworld: VAMworld - 1880-O VAM-48
Technically it's considered a variety. For this particular VAM, in AU there's a slight premium. VAMworld has the last graded AU55 selling for $55 in 2008, and I think the average regular '80 O in AU is worth around $25-$30, so not really that big of a difference.
Philch, In case you are a little confused, the VAM 1A ( listed on your slab) was changed to VAM-48 as Raider mentioned. Since it is in the top 100 Morgan VAM listing, there may be extra value, but I am not knowledgeable as to how much. You might check the Heritage archives and past Ebay auctions. Welcome to the forums! Jim
I just checked eBay too, seems most sellers are a little more hopeful with the price in AU . The BINs are all around $100, but I think around $50-60 is a more realistic price.
