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 Replies: 33 / Views: 8,382 |
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Valued Member
 United States
321 Posts |
 quite a valuable insight guys, thank you for the responses |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
709 Posts |
There is a lot to learn. For you to be a successful vammer you will need to be able to grade accurately. You will need to study and from that study be able to recognize Morgan dollars that are in the top 100, hot 50, hit list 40 and if you do Peace dollars the top 50. There are others outside that group as well worth knowing about and owning if you are lucky, persistant and relentless. Vamming is a wonderful pursuit but it is not for the feint of heart. Be able to recognize an ultra rarity and buy it (cherry pick) and you are on your way to being a vammer. So to your question, what makes a value added VAM? The answer is those coins that are sought for their rarity, their interest, their wow factor and those coins that others are after as well. Seated Nut said you should join the SSDC. (Society of silver dollar collectors), I think that is a wise decision. Knowledge is power and in this hobby, knowledge is paramount. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3076 Posts |
Hey ZEEEEEEE,  actually a lot of us like the exploration of how things work! it's just that some people are so full of the selves If they don't think of it themselves they don't want it laid out in front of them, Too closed minded..  ....but true enough some coins can be considered generational,(my thought is that they are trying to milk the money out of there new knowledge) where younger generations are only interested in newer coins, or possibly LESS EXPENSIVE as the HYPE for these old clunkers is getting out of hand, with the exception of those who have the money to gamble with between themselves. When I was 4, my uncle gave me a Morgan dollar.....I new EXACTLY how to capitalize this new wealth....STRAIGHT to the candy store.... but today the VAM is being ingrained into the system.. Weather it holds will be another story, based upon the wealth that is spent by its predicessors...but then again there is still a following for older coins than the Morgan dollars,,, anything from the 1795 pennies halves and what not, are still very collectible....and not just by the OLD TIMERS.....If I had the money I would collect the early years of US mints....Old Dollars and halves have a certain charm about them.....it transends time and age groups..... And as you all, Zee,OZ and nut have all pointed out...It takes time and knowledge of what ever you are collecting so we are not SUCKED into the HYPE of the new rage........ VALUE ADDED VAM..a very interesting and most appropriate way to look at this whole thing...but it is not simple, AS my friends have pointed out it takes a lot of "time" and resources to know whats worth collecting......then again if you can't pinpoint the grade your buying your still loosing money.. And that's true to what ever your doing...I like VAM's, and I have some unique vams that is not on anyone's lists. so they don't have a premium..others have decided what is or not to be collected...with 5,000 vams out there and rising...I still study to know and learn, its a long process... I think.... A Value added VAM is a coin accepted by year and grade, and value, which has an "error" that can add to the value.. That I believe is accepted in all other denominations, Morgans are not the only error coins.......the bottom line is....do you buy the coin for what its assumed worth is? or did you buy the coin for way less(grade and or VAM) or the retail price..... Well at 13 years old, I have a lot to learn....It is what it is.. |
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Pillar of the Community
3660 Posts |
Heh, heh...The consensus of belief rules in modern society, and the general perception here of my being something that I am not gives me a significant degree of chauvinistic credibility that I did not enjoy elsewhere, based on something that really shouldn't have mattered. Quote:...but then again there is still a following for older coins than the Morgan dollars,,, anything from the 1795 pennies halves and what not, are still very collectible....and not just by the OLD TIMERS.....If I had the money I would collect the early years of US mints....Old Dollars and halves have a certain charm about them.....it transends time and age groups.... For what reasons though? Genuine interest, or perceived value, and visions of subsequent profit? Yes, As for the knowledge of vams thing, you know that I have none. I remember certain things that impressed me, like hub characteristics, die cracks or breaks, and which vams they are assigned to. I don't check with VW, so if I don't recognize it immediately from memory, that is the end of it, and 95 percent of those 5000, I don't recognize. As to the original question of "What is a value added VAM?" My definition is that 'it is one in every 20 or 30 that you buy'. |
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Valued Member
United States
321 Posts |
Wow. Great sum up aladin and zee. I feel like I just completed a book that came full circle (not to mention the lengths of the posts were sufficient for a book).  Thanks again everyone. |
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New Member
Kuwait
6 Posts |
I have over 50 Morgans right now in my collection. VAMs were always a side note for me in my collecting Morgan dollars. While I do own a few VAMs, their purchase was purely by mistake ( or luck ). I didn't know or care about VAMs when I started collecting Morgans. Now that I have most of the common dates in ms-63 or better I'am starting to go back and look at the VAMs. Would I buy a VAM at a premium price because it had some crazy die error. No. I wonder if the guy making the coins at the mint way back then knew he would be creating a coin collecting hobby 100 years into the future. VAMs are cool, interesting and a challenge to collect, but I wouldn't try to collect them as an investment! I still love the Morgan without question. |
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Pillar of the Community
3660 Posts |
A very intelligent and practical post barb....Welcome to the nut house.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
709 Posts |
As an investment vehicle, I wouldn't collect vams either. As a hobbyist, that is a different matter as vams are interesting and fun. But in today's environment, I would recommend practicing defensive vamming with respect to the premium pricing on some coins. While some coins may justify the price, most (in my opinion) do not.
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Pillar of the Community
3660 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
3660 Posts |
Somehow, I thought that things might be different now, but no...... it is 'still' hilarious this morning.  What a way to start the day ! edited to add: I'm sorry if I said something wrong Coach Oz.....I am still trying to learn the game. This is only my sophomore season, so let me get it straight......The dealers are on offense, and the collectors are the defensive team, right? Edited by zeewool
10/02/2010 8:53 pm
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Valued Member
United States
133 Posts |
And the offense always has the ball and scores and scores and scores!!!
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Pillar of the Community
3660 Posts |
That was funny too, for a few moments, until the weight of your words hit me, like a freight train. Those that I care about are defensive players. All of a sudden, even Terry's words are no longer amusing to me. It makes sense to me now, all the defense can do is dig in, be brave, try not to allow any unnecessary gains in yardage, hope for a fumble in the end zone, and recover for the elusive touchback. I sit on the sidelines, but I will cheer whenever it is appropriate (if somebody will tell me just when that is).
I've missed your sagely posts Smitty.
Edited by zeewool
10/02/2010 11:43 pm
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
This is nothing which is not true about all of numismatics. We swim in shark-infested waters, regardless of our concentration.
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Pillar of the Community
3660 Posts |
Yes, I believe that. In such a large body of water though, the currents sometimes shift and change, and the uninformed or disinterested shark become the prey. Sometimes the defense does make that touchback.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
when I first started collecting I just bought up any and all uncirculated Morgans I could find. I was actually working on a complete set of Morgans by date and mint mark. At that time I wasn't a member of any coin forums and don't think I even knew they even existed. By the time I almost had my Morgan collection completed I found a coin which had the term VAM on the label (was a 1878 VAM-84 graded by NGC) and I started searching what it meant. It was around that time I found this coin forum and started asking questions and even bought the encyclopedia. I found that I had some pretty nice VAM's in my collection without even knowing it but at that time VAM collecting and was something very few people actually did and I think there were only about 35 VAM's PCGS even attributed (out of those 35 I had 6). Now times have changed and it seems like everyone and their brother looks through ebay and every other auction site looking for VAM's and when a popular one comes to auction there is so much interest the price goes up allot, but when I first started VAM collecting you could even get coins in the R-6 range for a couple bucks over starting bid |
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Posted 07/18/2010 12:45 am
