1878-P Morgan REV Of 78 VAM ?

You are correct with the VAM description it should be tiust not trist, hopefully JLee will see this topic and make that change. You are also correct that a coin can only have one VAM listing the VAM is a description of the die pair not just the Obverse or Reverse.

The U does look funny, I am trying to make up my mind as to wether it is post mint damage or not. Let me look at it for a while and see what I come up with, It looks doubled, but it also looks as if it may have been smashed down. Can you get a shot from a different angle? Hopefully someone else will come along with an opinion.

I was hoping it would be a 186A, but there is no spike in the eye. If it helps I do know that the variety is between 100 and 200. That part was easy though.

Hey NGiles, thanks for your help on this one and editing the description on VAMworld. Is Vamworld like Wilkpedia? Where people can put their own pics and descriptions on it?

It would be fun to one day see the various stages of a die's deteriation. From first strike to die cracks. I think this particular coin may have a couple faint die cracks along STATES between the first T and E and along parts of the top of AMERICA. You can barely see a glimpse of it in the pic above. I would imagine this particular coin was one of the last runs for this coin die.

I wonder how many coin dies they went through in 1878? If more would post pics and descriptions one would be able to get a timeline of sorts. I need to pick up a book on vams too, not sure what a B2c is but I'll find out. Thanks, Loyal

A time line is the goal of the VAMworld site. The problem with the site is, anyone can make posts or changes on it. Many times the entries or changes are not correct so the experts have to constantly monitor them.

The B2c is the reverse die that was used on your coin. Each obverse and reverse die has been identified and given a number, the pairing of the different dies is what defines the VAM listing. There are also EDS, MDS, and LDS(Early Die State, Mid Die State, Late Die State) possibilities for each variety. You can see the progression of die cracks, clash marks, and so forth through the different die states. So basically the progression has been tracked, and is continually updated when new specimens are found.

When dies are in need of maintenance, usually only the damaged side of the pair is removed and replaced with a substitute, because the pairing is no longer the same, A new variety is created. At the top of most VAM listings at VAMworld it shows a reference number such as this example of the 1878 P VAM 185.185 II1 - B2c The 185 refers to the VAM listing, the II1 refers to the obverse die that was used for this variety, and the B2c refers to the reverse die. If a die is repaired and reinstalled with a previous match, you have a sub variety such as with the 1878 P VAM's 186 & 186A. In this example the reverse die was polished and paired again with the same obverse die.

It can get complicated, but once you pick up on the system, it saves a lot of time.