Has anyone here ever sent a prospective VAM off to Leroy Van Allen for attribution? What was your experience? When does his hiatus end and accepts submissions again after the new year? I'm asking here because I'm more familiar with members here and the format is less cumbersome. Thanks for any input.
It has been a long time since I submitted anything to Leroy. Your best bet would be to contact him before submitting anything to make sure that he is available. Also, one of his pet peeves is someone who doesn't describe in detail what is seen on the coin. He will not inspect a coin for everything. You have to be specific! Chris
He's sort of accepting coins now, as he's finished with his annual updates, but his wife was just in the hospital, so he has a lot of extra work on his plate. I'd hold off on sending him anything for a couple weeks. Post a picture here or on VAMWorld to see if anyone can save the trip. When someone sends a coin to my attribution service and I can't figure it out, I send the submitter a description of what I see and don't see that leads me to believe it's a new variety with instructions on sending the coin to Leroy. He seems to appreciate this. More often than not, it results in a new listing.
Mine is pictured as VNA and has been for over a year now. It's been vetted as a probable new discovery piece. I seem to rekindle an interest in it every time submissions are on hold. Funny how that works huh?
Here's the thread I started on it before. I'm sorry to those sick of seeing it... https://www.cointalk.com/threads/1922-peace-doubled-edge-reeding.240479/
It is a collar clash. They happen when a slightly misaligned hammer die hits the collar die and the collar imparts reeds in the rim area of the hammer die. The reverse die is the hammer die for the Peace dollar. It is not VAM 1W, as your coin has a B2 reverse. The pictures that had been posted to the VAM 1W page have been removed. There was little to no interest in collar clashes until just a few years ago, which is why so few are listed. There are some candidates in the VAM 2DA-2ED range, and it is entirely possible yours is yet unlisted. Compare not only the position of the clash, but also other markers on the coin (cracks and scratches) to determine if it is or isn't one of those listed.