Your first question: How many vams are there? Answer: There are over three thousand plus vams and counting.
Are there an infinite number? Answer: No, there is a finite number, we just don't know what that number is.
Does every variation no matter how slight have a
VAM attributted to it? Answer: No
Where is the line drawn? Answer: This is an excerpt from Leroy Van Allen, father of the
VAM hobby.
GUIDELINES FOR THINGS LISTED AS DIE VARIETIES
By Leroy Van Allen
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•Die doubling on the devices, letters stars and date digits have to be readily visible using a 7X or 10X hand magnifying glass that the average collector uses at coin shows and shops when searching for die varieties. A 20X or 30X stereo microscope is useful to check die doubling but not reason enough to list doubling unless visible with hand magnifying glass.Die
•Slight die doubling on a few obverse stars or a few reverse wreath leaves are generally too minor to list by themselves as they are fairly common. Doubling has to be on all left or right stars to list or on most of left or right wreath leaf clusters to list.
•Die chips, breaks, scratches & gouges have to be readily visible to the naked eye to list. Tiny die chips are very common as dies wore out from use. Likewise, die breaks to be listed have to wide & high chunks out of the die and visible to the naked eye and not just thin shallow die cracks. Thin, shallow die cracks are extremely common as dies wore out & we don't list them.
•Scratches are fairly thin and high lines while gouges are wide and high bars. They have to be long enough to be readily visible to the naked eye.
•Scratches and gouges in the denticles are generally not listed because they are well hidden and not visible to the naked eye.
•Denticles, date and stars that have shiny edges that have been pushed in and indented occur when the coin was struck and then pushed out of the collar, or die slid sideways during striking of a coin. A striking error that we don't list - we only list die varieties.
•Flat, shiny, top doubling on edges of obverse or reverse motto or legend letters or date and stars is from
Machine Doubling. It occurs when there is looseness in the coin press mechanism and dies bounce slightly during the striking of the coin. It is most common on the reverse for the
Morgan dollar and on the obverse for the
Peace dollar.
Machine Doubling tends to reduce the original design. Die doubling has dull, rounded surfaces. It enlarges the original design.
Machine Doubling isn't listed since it isn't a die variety.
•Tiny thin, short raised lines on the device not visible to the naked eye aren't something listed separately. They might be useful as a die marker however, if needed.
•Fine thin polishing lines in Liberty's head, on the eagle, or wreaths are extremely common on
Morgan dollars and are generally not visible to the naked eye. Therefore, they aren't something that is listed. Only list those that are unusually heavy & thick. Sometimes used as die markers however.
•Polishing lines have to be over much of the fields and visible to the naked eye or extremely bold in the device to list. Isolated die polishing lines in fields aren't listed as die varieties by themselves. Can be used as die markers if needed.
•Polishing roughness in wreath bow & leaves is also very common and generally not visible to the naked eye as they are well hidden. So it isn't listed. Polishing roughness can occur around the legend letters causing a rough outline and parts of the letters that don't follow the letters exactly. It isn't die doubling, which follows the letter shape exactly. Generally, the polishing roughness around the letters is not listed unless it is very severe.
•Rim
Cud die breaks that don't extend through the denticles into the field aren't listed.
Retained Cuds can be listed and are formed when a die crack extends rim to rim with some displacement of the field.
•A displaced field die break can be listed if a die crack has the adjacent field raised or tilted to form a different angle of the flat field visible to the naked eye.
•Missing design elements can be listed from over polishing if visible to the naked eye.
•Common die clash marks that aren't letters aren't listed (clash marks with no letter transfer). Only clashed letters on obverse and reverse are listed. An exception is on
Peace dollars that can have a clashed spike up from the eagles' right shoulder from the obverse back of Liberty's head and neck. Shorter single spikes aren't listed unless they are long enough to reach UN. Double and triple clashed spikes are listed.
To your unasked question. Please explain some grey areas. For example a (any date Morgan) is listed as a
VAM 1 because there are no distinquishing features. The coin has a clash episode. does this change the designation? Answer: Only if there is letter transfer. So now the coin becomes
VAM 1 A clashed letter.
After repeated strikings the clashed letter fades away. What is it called then? Answer. It reverts back to
VAM 1. What is interesting to note here, is now you have a
VAM 1 that is non clashed or clashed. Still a
VAM 1. What happens if in addition
VAM 1 has a lot of cracks on it too small to list? Still a
VAM 1 but a more interesting coin. I hope this helps.
Posted 09/09/2010 4:12 pm
