VAM_it

I apologize for the short cuts, IMHO, in my honest opinion, IMO, in my opinion....

I feel the need to address this in an official capacity.

In my own words, nonetheless.

Insofar as topics here get dragged off into the puckerbrush, I both admit responsibility and accept blame. Not only am I personally responsible for doing some of the dragging, I am further officially responsible for the efficient conduct of this forum. It is my choice to allow things to go this way, and although I carry no more authority than any other Moderator here, so far I've been allowed to do it.

Here is why I'm encouraging this environment:

1) Coin Community is never going to be the central repository of information on individual Morgan varieties. That's the job of VAMworld. We're going to duplicate their efforts to an extent as time goes by, but VAMworld is where the world needs to go to get the last word on VAMs, now and into the future.

It is our intent at Coin Community to concentrate on the newer collector. Look up and to your left - note the slogan, "Education is the key to collector success." That's what we're here for. But, attributing a VAM is science, not art. One short post is all it would take to teach you the basics of VAMming, and the rest is, and always will be, up to you.




That's how you attribute a VAM. That's all of it. I don't attribute VAMs from memory - I attribute them from VAMworld and other reference sources. I know maybe a hundred VAMs on sight, out of 4,000. The rest, I don't know about until you post a picture and I do the steps I quoted above. If I offer an attribution of a date other than 1878 and 1921, you can be sure I haven't ever seen it before you posted it.

Other members here know more than I - they maybe have specialties in other dates than I - but that's what they do as well. Nobody, ever, will remember them all, and what I quoted above is the only common denominator to attribution.

2) Not everybody here is new to coins, Morgans, or attribution. The guy who wrote the 1902-O Attribution Guide is a poster in here. I know who he is, and respect his wish for privacy by not revealing the fact. Some relatively prominent VAMmers post here. In addition to serving the newer collector, we need to provide an attractive environment for them, as well, so they'll stick around to help teach.

That means we're going to wander off into what some might consider more arcane areas of knowledge. Every bit of that arcane knowledge ought to some day be in the arsenal of someone who is committed to VAMming. Knowing "why" is very, very important to your ability to know "what." Consider Machine Doubling when I say this.

At the same time we're trying to teach new people, we're trying to further the advancement of the hobby itself. Sometimes the two intersect, and when we're communicating in near-real-time, sometimes it happens now.

3) This place can sometimes have the appearance of an "old boy" network. That's because we foster an informal atmosphere. But consider some of the personalities involved. Zeewool has been here less than two years. Aladinslamp, who in my opinion does more for newer VAMmers than anyone else here, just passed his first anniversary at Coin Community. The only prerequisite to be a member of the "network" is to be here. Registering is the sum of your price of admission.

I feel very strongly that the proper environment to discuss Morgan dollars is one in which fish of all sizes can swim freely. A resulting degree of intimidation on the part of new members is to be expected, because we simply can't keep this permanently at "VAMs 101" and expect to retain the people who are capable of teaching that course.

Furthermore, the game changes daily. There's a huge amount of information to exchange, and we're not even close to gathering it all yet. Keep that in mind - this is not like Bust Halves, where most varieties are already known. What's true about Morgans today might not be true tomorrow.



Thank you for raising this, 1893S. Look at the threads in here - for every post, there are 10 reads. For every one who feels like you do and speaks up, there are 10 who feel the same way and never speak. We don't want to discourage them, and we can't get it right 100% of the time. We only know about it if someone says something, and you therefore do as much a service to this forum as anyone else by raising the point.

If I haven't addressed it adequately, call me out. Not via email, call me out here. In the open forum. Interrupt a thread. Communicate. We always say, "the only dumb question is the one which goes unasked." We mean it. If there's a problem with how things are going, we'll address it in the open.

Dave...Let me start out by saying that I really enjoy reading all posts in the VAM forum although my eyes start rolling sometimes........My point was some posts are, speaking for myself, too long winded. I'm sure I've read a thousand pages in the last month or so and I personally don't think more than a hundred or so were needed to say what the thousand said..It reminds me of someone at a party that you just want to tell "shut up". I also know this isn't just for new VAMMERS...but...the new VAMMERS may be turned off from what I stated previously....The "good old boys" thing refers to what I perceive as discounting what newer members may say and also the agreeing with the boss/supporting the authority per se.....I do own the 4th addition of the Encyclopedia....I think most should catch my drift as to what I mean as far as $$$$$$interest and frequent posting.....Now, what I have to offer is 40+ years of grading Morgans and knowing the different date/mint characteristics for each year....I am getting a better grip on VAMMING with your folks help, and the Encyclopedia is a great start, but, I think some of the folks here explain things better and are in some ways wiser than the authors of the book....This is as long winded as I can get for now, I try to keep it short and to the point.....I'm also known to my friends as an agitator.....Enough for now, time for a cocktail!!

Cool Dave....I do believe this is an awesome Forum...I'm off to another Coin Show tomorrow in search of more Morgans....Cheers from the Tundra!!

I am inclined to believe, that this is such an EXTENSIVE subject one may think, any topic is open to a no-holds bard discussion...
It is an extensive topic, filled with topics of the processing of the silver for coinage, to the minting process, The process of making the dies and the trouble they had ECT ECT....the thing is, this started as just a thread.... just a thread about vamming...rather attributions, so we can learn the fundamentals of attributing any VAM, and also guess the VAM...which is why this thread has gotten far off tract.
AS THE TOPIC OF VAM-IT, can include all of the above topics..some topics can be hijacked yet fall into the perimeters of the subject which this thread has fallen to...Obcsuring the original intent....
This Idea will not end here but resume in another arena, for its original intention...is to present the attribution process in a way
that new comer's who wish understand the topic.. can have a place to inspect others coins and get the basics, and inspect there own with an enlightened mind....and introduce what they have found... This THIS IDEA WILL NOT PASS......whether people respond or not......

Being such as extensive subject as it is.... let us not be overwhelhmed buy one or two posts....or the comments...by one or two who question, and this is our right...let us still focus..on the original point...
......THERE ARE many here who wish to contribute in there own way......
As they can.....its not about money or you would see in our sellers/auction forums an over whelming Vams section and YOU DON'T......FOR THOSE comments thinking about how we WE ARE MAKING a PROFIT....there is no buy or sell it now feature here....
and as such.. what are your bobbies? what do you waiste your time on?

Soon my friend, I've been busy remodeling.. I have many passions in life, this is but one of MANY of them If I get time tomarrow, I will post a new thread....one more specific, so as not to include all of the areas of Vamming... Thanks for asking... the Idea of VAM-IT is not going to die here. but rather moved...
SO we can focus on the process of attributions and how they are determined....one must realize in general there is a basic process however it changes by the year of mintage, meaning some years have tremendous variances, and other years have few vams in there listings...We can get to that tomorrow..