As a Morgan collector, I am going right down the list and trying to collect one of everything in the Red Book. Between 1878 and 1880, these dates are littered with all kinds of varieties and many are listed in the Red Book, which makes it even that much more challenging. I alway knew that I had the 1880CC 80/79, 2nd Rev VAM 4 because I bought it labeled as such from NGC. It was still in the original GSA holder and not many of these exist still in the original holder. What is neat about this variety or VAM is that it is a very noticeable variety and only minor magnification is necessary to make the distinction. But when it came to the 1880CC with 3rd reverse, I never gave it a second look to see what VAM it really was. Well, tonight my curiosity got the better of me and low and behold, I can now claim that I have the VAM6 which is the 80/79 but with a low 7. Both of these are in the TOP 100 VAMS book and highly desirable. I am just glad that I found one, even if it were by accident.
i would like to do the morgans but the mint has so much coming out there is no way i can do it ,i am trying the barber dime glad you found one of the top 100
Nice one! If you like the CC's, you might want to look for: 1882-CC VAM-2C3.....It has a cool counterclash on the lips, a large break on the back of the cap and a rotated die clash on the reverse. 1885-CC VAM-4.....Doubled dash under the second "8" easily seen with the naked eye. Chris
Thank you for everyone's comments. I guess I should have posted these last night, but it was late and I was beat. Here are some close ups of my VAM6 that I posted last night. There are a few key diagnostics to differentiate between the high 7 and low 7 ie VAM5 and VAM6 respectively. One the diagnostics on the obverse is what they call the "ears" or remnants of the two highest peaks of the 7 that protrude above the 8 around the 11 and 1 o'clock positions. These are noticeable in the VAM 5 (high 7) and may or may not be noticeable in the VAM6. But the bottom part of the 7 should be found set lower on the VAM6 than VAM5. The key diagnositics to look for are actually on the reverse. With the VAM 5, there will be distinct die gouge that extends in a direct north-south direction from the olive branch down to the slanted arrow feather. The die gouge is absent on the VAM6, but other markers do exist. The primary one is a nice polishing line in the M of America. Other polishing lines exist in the Eagle's right wing as well. I am sorry that I do not have a VAM 5 to compare my results to, but more pics can be found on Vamworld.com
