Is VAMming A Volatile Hobby?

You have really got me thinking Oz. Check your email.

what I was trying to illustrate is if you don't know the attributes of a specific VAM then you shouldn't just trust someone because they say it is one. A VAM-70 is a Top-100 coin so its one of the coins that is highly sought after so it just being in the title puts it at risk of someone getting burnt that doesn't know VAM's. I wish if the seller didn't know VAM's they wouldn't even try to attribute them in their auctions but that would be in a perfect world and not how it is. Its like the blind leading the blind and there is a potential of allot of money being lost if you don't know what you are buying whether it be a $.99 coin or a $2000.00 coin. I would have no problem with this auction if they had left off the VAM-70 thing but them putting it in the auction title means this seller knows just enough to know that VAM-70 is a Top-100 coin and worth considerably more than a regular 1878 in this condition so he is using that to try and make a sale on someone that knows about as much as he does. The good thing is there isn't allot of people out there that buy VAM's blindly (as far as I know) because most want to learn all they can about VAM's once they start getting into them

I would like to clarify my last statement about if you are being run out of town, get in front of the crowd and make it look like a parade. This statement stems back to the days of Governor Huey Long of Louisiana. A populist governor who enjoyed living. It means to live your life with gusto. It means to take chances. It means if you are wrong, at least go out in style giving it your best shot.
Vamming is about learning die pairs and pick up points. It is all about numismatic forensics. It means pitting your wits against a dealer. Superior knowledge does win. But vamming isn't for the timid. You have to take chances. Along with chances come the inevitable misses. You have to be bold and confident in your self to succeed.
It doesn't mean be reckless. But there is nothing wrong with a little flair, dare and debonair. After all, who said this hobby has to be dull?

Morgans and vamming make a wonderful hobby, however VAMs = VAMworld = Keep your head down and your powder dry. There's a wealth of knowledge available there for a newbie or collector, don't think I'd want to go on there and tell them I wanted to become a big time dealer tho! LOL

VAMworld must be taken in context, and respected for what it is: the center of the universe of VAMming. The people who will shape the future of Morgan dollar varieties exchange information there. The ones who are doing the things we wish would be done with the knowledge base of Morgan VAMs are doing that work there. Frankly, I don't consider VAMworld the appropriate venue for the beginning VAM collector. Although the Internet is free (in a sense), it's the same thing as looking for the yesterday's newspaper in the Library of Congress - although you could find it there, chances are it'd be easier done elsewhere and in the meantime you'll be rubbing the serious folk the wrong way.

I do not mean that in any disparaging sense. What's happening at VAMworld is vital to the future of our hobby, and I have a level of respect for those people which approaches awe. VAMworld should be considered a research center, and allowed to function as such. I read their forum, and contribute there occasionally in a small way (the current VAM of the Week is my work), but I only post on rare occasions because my agenda is only peripheral to them. I try to leave them alone because I lack the experience and expertise to operate at their level.

It's up to places like Coin Community, in my opinion, to take care of the newer collectors. If you're serious about wanting to learn about VAM's, the first things you need to know are that 99% of them will be difficult to attribute and never worth more than "normal" value. Then you need to learn how to come to that conclusion about the coin you have on the desk in front of you.

This process should not be foisted on those who are engaged in creating the database.

Yes, I know, there are plenty of people at VAMworld who are more than happy to help newbies. Some of those people post here, as well, to our greater benefit. Some of those there who are less kind to the newer collector should stand for a while in front of the mirror to consider who they're seeing. It's not my place to judge either, but to help create an alternative, an environment conducive to the beginning of a long happy relationship with these beautiful cartwheels. That way those who are devoting their lives to expanding the known universe of Morgans are able to operate in greater freedom.

Some of the things they find difficult are rather.....easier for those of us whose experience is greater in navigating the twists and turns of shepherding an online community. That's as it should be - one concentrates on what one does well. I've been collecting Morgans for about five years, and Moderating online for a decade. Although I might be able to help what they're doing at VAMworld in some small sense, better for me to do what I'm doing here; it's (in my mind) just as important to the furtherance of VAMming.

We at Coin Community are blessed with a core of collectors whose knowledge runs to VAMs, and whose inclination is to share that knowledge with newer collectors. The variety bug hits hard, but it doesn't hit everyone and it doesn't always stay with those who first feel it. Better for that process to take place in an environment separated from those who are actually creating the foundation upon which we stand.

That is a very good analogy, but I was reading comic books and throwing spit balls. Wish I would have come here first, but, I didn't.

That is one of my favorite things about you Gene. You are unwavering, steady as a rock. Many times, when I do not understand anything else, I 'do know' that I am very happy to call you 'friend'.