1878 Morgan, Ain't Got A Clue

It looks like VAM41C to me.

You guys nailed it. I guess it was just the NGC attribution that threw me for a loop. If I would have paid more attention to the coin than the attr. I would have found it just fine. Thanks for the help guys.

I <3 V41C. It's got some of the busiest clashing ever seen on a Morgan.

NGC get's almost as many VAMs wrong as they get correct - not a good track record for them - as seen on vamworld site as well in the message board. I would never trust them without doing some research on the VAM other than looking at their label.

PCGS can get it wrong too, here is a funny story I'll repost from a good friend of mine over at the VW forum, he and I shared tables at coin shows back in the early 1990s, he is now one of the board directors of the SSDC:

True story (and a fun one): 1998, I believe, and Teletrade was not online - I'm not sure if Al Gore had even invented the internet yet. Bidding was by phone from a weekly catalog that came in the mail, so the only pictures possible were those that Brad Johnson's written descriptions may have generated in your mind's eye. Cherrypicking was pure luck unless you lived close enough to Kingston, NY, to view lots in hand.

I mailed out some raw coins for grading/auction and forgot about them. It was a time when a MS-63 8-TF commanded the princely sum of $65, and included in my consignmnt was a lovely 14.1 example, just dripping with creamy luster. Only one mark in front of the portrait was keeping it from MS-66. I chose NGC because I expected a coveted star designation, but secretly I hoped they might also 'five' this appealing specimen, despite the unlucky mark in the field. Naturally, I did NOT request a VAM number on this coin because of the negative premium effect it would trigger.

Months later, I was blithely unconcerned about how my lots had graded or even when they would cross the auction block until the afternoon I got a frantic phone call from Teletrade. It was about 10 minutes after the 3 PM start time of their auctions and Brad asked me if I knew the attribution of my 8-TF. I quickly answered '14.1' and asked why he wanted to know. The reason, he answered, was simple: besides the MS-64 grade, it had been given a Top-100 VAM-9 designation. Bidding was already over ten grand and I was told that Dr Fey was in his car and on his way from New Jersey!

Naturally, we pulled the coin from the phone frenzy and they shipped it to me in the misattributed slab free of all charges, including grading. Shortly thereafter, I shipped it, in turn, to the other author of that little book that changed so many of our lives. Jeff had been delighted and amused by the story of Miss Liberty's great adventure and he greatly desired that she join his vast harem of lovely silver ladies there in sunny California. She could not have asked for a better home and so I was happy to oblige . . . . Vam-O-Rama