Please Help! What Exactly Is A VAM?

So maybe you can help me with a question superdave. Say I have a Morgan with a date that has a known number of VAM's found on them- does this mean that all pieces from that date from that mint have all the same VAM's on them? Will my piece have those VAM's on them? If so, many of them are commonplace no? Now also would my purchase of a USB microscope (waiting for its arrival) help in seeing these VAM's or did I just waste my money? Finally, if some of these VAM's are so commonplace, if in fact they are, why are certain pieces rarer and thus more expensive then any of the same type of coins?
Thanks for the help!
A

Forgive the delay, Anthony; I work long shifts and weird hours, and go a couple days at a time without being able to access the forum.

One numbered VAM is one Morgan dollar variety. Its' features are unique to that date, mint mark and die pair.* Each date/MM combination uses the same numbering system, starting with VAM-1, so for instance an 1880-O VAM-2 has nothing whatsoever to do with an 1886-P VAM-2. And although some differing VAMs within one year issue might share characteristics - die pairs changed, and sometimes one obverse die (for example) was used with two reverse dies, so that would create two VAMs - no two different VAMs will ever be exactly alike.

Now, let's discuss values, keeping in mind that a coin's street value is a function of both supply and demand. Demand is why a 1909-S VDB Lincoln sells for so much, when they're seemingly a glut on the market. So it is with rarer VAMs. The 1878 issue year has a large fan base, and extensive research has been done over years on them. New VAMs are still being identified with regularity (one or two a year), but much of the knowledgebase for that year is relatively stable since their popularity has led to such complete research. The scarcer 1878's are known rarities and therefore command higher premiums among a large collector base, leading to expensive coins. Now, show me the rarest 1904-O VAM - there could only be two or three known - and I won't pay you as much as I might for that 1878 with 20 known. It's not in demand for me; there's too little competition.

I do not believe that there are as many as 25 individuals who are seriously attempting to collect a large portion of known VAMs. There are nearly 5000 known VAMs; that's a pretty big job.

* Originally, Messrs. Van Allen and Mallis codified their VAMs by features rather than specific die pairs. They had accurate information regarding the number of dies prepared - over 3500 pairs for the total Morgan mintage, not including 1921 - and given that hub production was at a level of accuracy previously unequalled in US coin production, I'm guessing they figured that identifying individual die pairs was a futile task. Nowadays, most of those doing serious VAM research are, in fact, identifying specific die pairs. This is leading to, in addition to the finding of new VAMs, the consolidation of old designations which turned out to be the same die pair, and expansion of others for which more than one die pair was identified.

Not all VAMs are nice enough to identify themselves with special, unique markings like die gouges, doubled lettering or odd date/mint mark locations. Sometimes, very small differences in tiny marks inside the devices of the die are all that differentiates two VAMs. This is where VAMming becomes tedious and academic, and the ultimate reward for that work will never be other than basic knowledge. The overwhelming majority of VAMs are unlikely to ever be worth more than "standard" Morgan prices.

There are a very few, however, which will fetch thousands in circulated condition. And it's a virtual certainty that every example of each of them has not yet been discovered.

@Westcoin, I had a pleasant discovery the other day going through my Morgans I purchased a long time ago. (pre VAMming days) It's a 1878-S VAM27 in maybe EF40 condition.

VAMworld is Ground Zero for VAMming, but it's honestly not a place I'd recommend for someone just getting into VAMming.

I recommend everyone interested in VAMming should at least lurk over on VAMworld. I still do.

I know a guy named Russ over there and he doesn't bite.

I read that as his "insanity" can be scary at times!




Very cool Dave - wonderful find!!

HI Rob