VAM Article In Coins Magazine/Price Guide

Please don't take this wrong since my point is not to endorse any particular software or literature.

But I came to the conclusion that I personally want to know 'ALL' of the existing errors and varieties that are present among the ALL of the coins that I currently own: especially BEFORE I sell them.

In order to do this it appeared that I was going to have to acquire multiple heavy books along with links to applicable web sites geared toward pointing out the characteristics of each of these varieties etc...

After much trial and error I finally bit the bullet and signed up for a yearly on-line subscription to PCGS' CoinFacts which does an excellent job providing high resolution photos and related auction sale prices of the various grades of US coins including their varieties.

I just wish I could find an effective low or no cost web site that actually effectively walks one through the attribution process for the bust coinage (half dimes, dimes, quarters, and halves).

CoinFacts will display the multiple varieties and prices of these coins but that is where it for the most part ceases.

CoinFacts does point out every now and then using arrows the location of the attribute that is the defining characteristic of a particular variety but only does this on a limited and inconsistent basis.

The efficient and accurate attribution of ALL of these beauties is a completely different story since the determination of each variety (and sometimes a coin can have 20 or more varieties) involves much knowledge and know-how relating to attribution.

I guess I really did not expect PCGS to include all of that specific procedural information within its product but it sure would have been sweet if they graphically explained the key particular anomaly for ALL US coins in detail including tips on how to locate identify the variation...

In summary abundant and very accurate information exists within CoinFacts that can be used as a one of many critical components to successfully identify exactly what type of coins (including varieties) are present within anyone's personal collection.

IMO,

mdpmedia

Yes mdpmedia, I agree about the value of CoinFacts, and particularly the huge archive and direct links to past sales and photos. I was actually not aware of the archive detail for awhile, until I clicked at 'Auctions - PCGS Graded' on one of the price pages.

I tried to find a Coins Magazine website to voice my opinion to them directly, but I have not found it yet.

It can be hard to value your VAMs, but it is easy to identify them if you know what you are doing and where to look for info. Check out http://www.VAMworld.com All the info you will ever need about VAMs is on that site. Values can be found on ebay, Heritage and other sites in their completed listings.

I started this thread hoping to spark some thought about why varieties are given the cold shoulder by this magazine and other price guides like Red Book in general. I mean, when I was a kid and bought a Red Book from the local coin store I went home and looked up all of the change I had and found nothing worth more than face. :( Even the silver dime and quarters were not worth much at the time in 1988. If I had known about the different errors, varieties and such to look for I would have been into collecting when I was 8 but I gave up because I figured there was nothing in this modern stuff worth collecting. I only got into the hobby by luck because I went to the bank and decided to look through some half dollars and luckily found some silver ones, one being a 1938-D half (I know it's unbelievable, but true). I have been hooked on coins ever since and never found anything as rare as the 38-D roll hunting but it was a great kick start for me.

It took another 7-10 years before I was even shown what a variety actually was. I had a 1902-O VAM 51A LDS, at the time I thought it was just a Morgan dollar with a Die Chip Or Die Break Error. Of course, I thought it was the rarest thing in the world because I had never seen or heard of a VAM or any type of Variety and figured an Error on a 100+ year old coin had to be a major find. I was very naive and just thought everything out of the normal on a coin was an error. I somehow made it to a coin site called coinauctionhelp and the guys there directed me to VAMworld. My coin was identified on the site within a few minutes of posting but it took me several months to actually understand how to determine what constituted a VAM and how to identify them.

Kris