Question About VAMming

also I was able to get the comprehensive catalog and enciclopedia of morgan and Peace dollars for only $35 on ebay

Some dies only made a select amount of coins before being retired, so the coins it struck are rare. If you have any further questions it would be better off to start your own thread so your question will get the proper attention

Years ago I bought a silver dollar every paycheck. Later when I got interested in VAMs I tried to identify every one. I still can't. Some were just too worn to see a faint doubling or such. Some I lacked the skill to identify. And some I lacked the confidence to treat as a new discovery and pursue it. A few of those have since been "discovered" by others even though I've been sitting on one for a long time. I feel VAMming is much like doing crossword puzzles. It takes time, skill and perseverance. The rewards must come from within, though there is a lot of support from other VAMmers.




They almost always don't. Some VAMs can command a huge price, but most don't. It is much like art or fashion. It is fantastic because "he" said it's fantastic. His opinion is valued because "we" say his opinion is valued.
If you are a mature and knowledgable person, you'll see through all this and find what makes you happy. You have already done this when you look at car or gun magazines. Yes, the new XYZ is the rage, but in a little while, something else will replace it. In the mean time, a few classics will always be popular.

ok so my coin has a doubled liberty, so I know what section to look under. if you were in this situation what would you do to narrow down the possibilities? should I just go through each VAM in that section 1 by 1?

OK, broken 4th star, "r" in trust unbroken and doubled liberty narrows the choices down to 29 listings. It's time to match up the reverse die by the engraved wing feathers below the Eagle's right wing (viewer's left) using this guide. http://www.vamworld.com/4th+Ri...043;Location

oops the book was recommended by cascade. thank you all for you're help!

I'll respond to a lot of questions at once here.


Almost. Obviously, there are coins I buy because of the VAM, but there are others I don't, like an 81-S in 67 I bought because I liked the coin. I took a quick look to see if it was worth my time trying to figure it out, and concluded I had better things to do at the time, like attributing someone else's coins.


Yes, it is VAM 30. If you enjoyed figuring this out, you've discovered much of the allure of VAM collecting. 78-S is a great place to start, because it is well-researched.


Yes, except for 1878-P.


There are over 5000 VAMs listed, and a good 4000 of them are worth no premium. Die cracks don't necessarily define a VAM, but they do allow us to confirm a die pair that was used and assigned to a specific VAM number based on other characteristics, like doubling, date position, mint mark, etc. If you look at other series where collecting by die marriage is popular (Bust halves, large cents), there is probably a similar ratio of no-premium to premium coins. With a catalog an order of magnitude smaller, it's easier to wrap one's head around and attempt to collect the whole thing. Some of these die marriages, especially with later date large cents, are most easily identified by die cracks.

If anyone is going to be at the Dallas ANA show in March, there will be an educational presentation "Demystifying VAM Collecting." It'll be a panel discussion and Q&A with me and a couple other long-time VAM guys. Should be fun.