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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,881 |
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Valued Member
474 Posts |
I have, with little progress, been trying to decipher all of the 'alien language' associated with the Morgan dollar varieties.  Could this coin be a variety of some sort  The main reason I am asking is because of the position of the MM.    Edited by FlipOfACoin
02/16/2012 03:14 am
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Hmmm. Well, the top image is an S-mint reverse. The second image is an 1880 obverse. The bottom image is a New Orleans coin, with a high and right-tilted mint mark, which we'll assume is actually the coin in question.  It's a VAM, of course, as they all are. The position and orientation of the mint mark narrows things down drastically; chances are we could identify this one just by seeing the date to determine its' own orientation and position. It won't be certain, though, because one reverse like this is shared with a couple of obverses, neither of which have much information available. So, let's start with full-face images of the actual coin. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3076 Posts |
I agree, it's nice to have photo's that correspond to the actual date and mint mark in question... Posted date 1899-0
pictures of 1880-s?
We are happy to help, with confirmation of what we are helping...G
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Valued Member
 474 Posts |
Dave, I figured out what happened.  I named images of different coins the same, but in their respective files. When I went to upload the actual picture, 'the wrong picture' with the same name was being loaded from the cache memory... at least I figured it out, right?
All that to say, the correct pictures are now present in the original post. Sorry 
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9792 Posts |
Looks like the entire date is doubled, I am not sure there is a known VAM for all 4 digits in the date, I can tell it's open 9's but looks like we might need some more photos are there any die breaks on the coin? Any doubling of the ear area? http://www.vamworld.com/1899-O+VAMsNot a micro O for sure. First I thought 25 or 30 but the diagnostics don't match up at all. SuperDave? I also don't see any signs of clashing. "Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1981, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS), USMex, Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector. See my want page: http://goccf.com/t/140440Edited by westcoin
02/16/2012 07:21 am
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
I'm going to disagree a bit, westcoin, in that I don't see enough evidence to call the 9's open. For my money, I'm calling it VAM-10.
Note, if you check this out at VAMworld: VAM-10A has some deceptive images; two different mint mark tilts are shown.
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Valued Member
474 Posts |
Quote:
I'm calling it VAM-10.
English, German and even a little Spanish and I can read you loud and clear, but I am completely lost with 'Morganese.' |
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Valued Member
474 Posts |
OK, so is VAM-10 a designation within the entire series of Morgan dollars or do the various VAM designations each apply to the year of the coin EX: There may be a 1878 VAM-10 & 1879 VAM 10, ect...
The other reason I chose this coin, besides the tilt of the MM, was I thought I was seeing doubling in the date as well. In particular, the left side of both '9' numbers in the date.
Where does everyone stand on this coin? 
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Valued Member
474 Posts |
Disregard the above post. I just figured out how to read the 'Morganeese'  on the VAMworld website.
Comparing between the pictures on VAMworld for the VAM-10 and what is in my hand, it does appear to be a match.
VAMworld price history shows this coin selling in 2007, as NGC MS65 for $122.50
Edited by FlipOfACoin
02/16/2012 9:09 pm
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
....which is to say, it doesn't carry any real premium. The vast majority of VAMs don't.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9792 Posts |
You are correct SuperDave VAM10 it is! and yep most VAMs contain no premium over the "normal" price, remember every Morgan and Peace dollar is a VAM. All a VAM number refers to is a die pairing of obverse and reverse dies, kind of like fingerprinting and 2 always go together. Sometimes they will change over time this is why you sometimes see a VAM like 9 and then a 9a usually referring to a clash but not always, it could be a state of a major die crack or other change as the die life progresses. I find VAMing a fascinating field of study, and there is always room to learn and grow. Even the experts are still absorbing info, and there are still undiscovered VAMs out there I'm sure, not many but just look at SuperDaves favorites - the 1921 Morgans, there have been probably at least 50 or more new VAM pairings found in the past decade alone! "Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1981, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS), USMex, Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector. See my want page: http://goccf.com/t/140440 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3076 Posts |
The coin is a VAM 10......however itsd usual in the beginning to see doubbling in many a coin until you truely find a TRUE example of doubling VS shelf doubbling...I see no doubling in this coin and for VAM 4 it should be a MICRO -0 which it is not...Its still a great learning experience... seeing and learning what ARE THE VAM attributes are is the focal points......is where one starts!  Ideas of what one thinks, and the concurrence of what others see.....STILL the stupid question is the one not asked.... |
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,881 |
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Posted 02/15/2012 10:50 pm
