1878 8TF Morgans

I was looking at a couple of my 1878 8TF Morgans to see if they are on the list of Vams, here...

http://www.vamworld.com/1878-P+VAMs

After looking at the list and checking my coins against the vams list, it almost seems to me that list is almost an attribution or die pair/state list. It got to the point where I found them, but it was a serious endeavor. Serious enough that I didn't bother with the 7TF coins. That list is huge, it was late, and I got really tired of looking through a loop for key indicators.

That tells me a need a better magnifier, or one of those computer operated magnifiers. (IE, need to get with the times)

Am I way off on this line of thinking?

 

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The VAM niche is not a strength for me, but it is my understanding that the VAM designations are for die marriages and sometimes die states, too. They would not be considered error coinage.

 

That is kind of what I was getting at. If I put this in the wrong forum, my apologies.

 

Tom's exactly right, VAMworld also lists a definition: VAMworld - VAM

Attributing VAMs can become tedious, imo for 99% of VAMs your eye, or a 5-10x loupe is enough. I think one of the most important things to do is break everything down. For example take the '78 P 7 tail feather VAMs, if you just look at it as a whole, it may seem impossible to attribute your coin out of 200+ varieties.

So you start to break it down (going by the VAMworld list): VAMworld - 1878-P VAMs First make sure to check if it's a 7/8 tf. If it's not, is it the Parallel or Slanted arrow feather variety? If it's the parallel, is it the long nock or short nock variety? If it's the short nock, is the o in God open, or is the r in trust broken, or is the D in Dollars broken? All of these things are pretty easy to spot with the naked eye, and by numbering it down, it makes the number of potential matches much lower, therefore making it easier to attribute.

For other VAMs usually I take a quick look at the coin and see if anything really stands out (die breaks, clashes in certain areas, major die cracks ect...). If nothing stands out, check the date positioning (either very near, near, normal, far, very far), then check the mint mark positioning (if there is one), this will help number down the possible VAMs. If your trying to attribute VAMs I strongly recommend reading this link, if you haven't done so already: Attribution 101

 

Raider has given you the best advice for sorting through the 1878 VAM's.

Just be thankful it isn't a 1921.

Chris

 

Raider34 pretty much sumed it up. I have at least 15 morgan 8 tail feather coins. I picked another up this week end. But IM to dumb to figure out how to upload the photos. Keep getting error messages. Vaming 1878 8 Tailfeather coins has become an obsession with me. I have to use a stereo microscope for identification though, my eyes have gone down hill a bit.:bigeyes:

Hope to hear from you,

Steve

 

What file extension is on your photos?

These are the file extensions that are recognized here:

bmp, doc, gif, jpe, jpeg, jpg, pdf, png, psd, txt, zip

Chris

 

Chris,

They are .jpgs
:computer:

Steve

 

If you're uploading them from your computer directly to CT there is a 250kb limit, so if your pics are larger that might be the cause for the error messages.

 

Thank you raider34.I dont want to screw up this thread. Its a good one. Checking file size and returning to 8 Tail feather talk.

Thanks,

Steve