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 Replies: 9 / Views: 3,440 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1424 Posts |
I was talking to my buddy at the coin shop and asked him if he is into VAMS. He said "NO" and he doesn't even look for them in his stock. He said he has well over 1,000 Morgans that I could look through if I wanted to. I could take home a couple dozen each week to attribute and label them. Then I could sell a few on ebay and split the profit with him, no money out of my pocket at all. My question is this: Which VAMS are worth looking for that are easy to spot when you see them?  Any help would be appreciated! |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
OK. If you're actually going to do this, here's a few absolutes: 1) Any and every 8TF 1878. Learn the VAM-14.x series and VAM-9. 2) Long Nock 1878 7- and 7/8TF's. 3) Learn die clashing and where/how to find letter transfers. 4) Learn where to find large die breaks - stars and lettering near the rim obverse and reverse. 5) Learn the 1882 O/S varieties. 6) Learn the 1900 O/CC varieties. 7) Always look at the RIB in PLURIBUS for doubling. Golly. I could go on like the Energizer Bunny.  You're looking to turn stuff over for a profit, and you have to research a lot of coins to do it. The list above is stuff that will be easily found and potentially extremely profitable. Your other possibility is to apply yourself at VAMworld, and learn which of the Top 100, Hot 50 and Elite Clashed Morgans are truly rare, and concentrate on maybe the dozen most desirable of them. Much of what I've just listed will appear on that list. You're only going to be able to attribute maybe the half-dozen most obvious without at least a loupe, and they're not necessarily the really valuable ones. I'm not trying to discourage you, but if you want to do it right, you're going to have to become an expert researcher, quickly. If it were me, I'd grab each batch, break them down by date/mint, and go over them with the relevant VAMworld page open. You'll find some years which are of no interest at all, and a few (1878, 1887, 1888, 1921 and a couple others) which are worth your while to really dig into. 1878's, above all - they have far and away the largest audience of specialists. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1424 Posts |
WOW, Thanks for all the info Superdave  This is going to take some getting used to....I think I'm overwhelmed already  I've always just collected by date, MM and condition. These VAMS are totally new to me. What would be the best way to do this? Bring home a couple dozen of the same date and compare all of them to each VAM for that year? Or would that get too monotonous? |
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Valued Member
United States
214 Posts |
Hey buddy, shooting you over a site that will help you can download that another member to me on too. Can I come with you? please please.
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
99.5% of all VAM's carry no premium and interest only to the most hardcore collector. Of the ones which do, most will not do real well on ebay; the more valuable the VAM, the more likely you will be to do better with slabbing it and offering it at Heritage or VAMQuest. As I hinted in my last post, most of the truly valuable VAM's aren't really visible to the naked eye. So, your best bet is to narrow down your research by spending an evening on VAMworld looking for the years which offer little of interest. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
527 Posts |
If you are looking at 1921 P's always check the reeding to see if it is a wide reed variety. All wide reed varieties are top 100 Morgans. They are simple to check by merely holding a few of them together. Here is a link to see what I mean. This is a VAM 4, but if you look under 1921 P on the VAM site they will all be listed under the infrequently reeded varieties section. http://www.vamworld.com/1921-P+VAM-4 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
673 Posts |
When I discovered "VAM's" ,mostly by accident since my love for massive die cracks is known at the shop I frequent. Give me two same grade dates and I'll pick the one with cracks every time ! Then came the Donkey Tail and I was hooked. I figure if I need a date for my Morgan collection, why not find a Top 100 for that date, I am not paying a premium for them- no brainer. Aren't we all looking for the 44 ? or the VAM 9 ? I know I am ! I can't wait until I see a clashed E , I won't be able to contain myself . Tough job though , bmanofnbc , there is alot to know . I am with SuperDave, I would group them by date and MM, one group at a time so you are always looking for the same things, it gets confusing with different dates every time you pick up a coin. I check the auctions periodically now to see which ones are selling for good premiums, some are not on the TOP 100 list...or the HOT 50, it's a good way to see actual sale prices. The links to Populations and grades at VAMworld are not always up to date and sometimes leads to non-attributed coin prices. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1934 Posts |
I agree with SuperDaves assessment, overall. Any premium the majority of VAMs carry do not offset the time and resources invested in id'ing the VAMs, selling them on ebay, then splitting the "profits." If you were me, you'd go through the coins, find the VAMs, and try and buy them for yourself as regular coins -- particularly if the dealer doesn't care about VAMs. If he suddenly "cares," then he's somebuddy. I know that sounds underhanded; however, "buddies" are buddies....dealers are dealers....keep the distinction in tact. Analogy: it's rude to use the pepper en route to someone who asked you to pass it to them. I dont know what to call it when someone uses the pepper en route after they specifically said they werent interested in it. I'm being a B$(#*, I know...but I'm a tired(?) B$(*&%? :) |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2797 Posts |
I love this topic and the pursuit of Morgan VAMs has consumed my free time for the last two to three months. I would love to sit down with you and go through these, but alas! Here's a list of my most recently acquired VAMs to whet your appetite ... 1878 8 TF: VAM1 MS63PL, VAM8 AU 1878 7/8 TF: VAM 37 MS64 1878 7TF B1 Rev: VAM82 MS63 1880-P: VAM6 8/7 spikes (2) AU and XF 1888-O: VAM 24 High Oval-O 1921-D: Possible VAM1O(oh)(still attributing this one) If you have access to a "Cherry Picker's Guide" I've found it helpful along with VAMWorld. Good Luck |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2600 Posts |
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Replies: 9 / Views: 3,440 |
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Posted 03/05/2008 8:30 pm
