1884 VAM-2A: A Nice One, I Think!

The Hot 50 was published by Jeff Oxman in 2000, as an expansion of the Top 100 based on additional information (and the empirical data of what VAM specialists thought was cool/rare/desirable). The Elite Clashed Morgan dollars list is a similar effort by Dr. Mark Kimpton, published in 2005 and weighted towards what are considered the most desirable clashed Morgan issues.

The 1884 VAM-2A is a relatively common coin for these lists, and is available in high grades - PCGS has graded it in MS66. As such, although worth a premium, it doesn't have the retirement-income cachet of the 1889-O VAM-1A, a coin which would make you famous if you found one in this grade.

Pricing is all over the map, and I believe VAMView is extremely optimistic with their estimate of this one. The reason is, they're available enough that pretty much everyone who really wants one, has one. Sold today in a slab, you'd probably do no better than recoup your investment. With that said, I would absolutely slab it and wait for the market to catch up - I believe in my heart that VAMming is going to explode in the next 5 years - at which point the Elite Clashed Morgans are going to become very hot items. I'd be snarfing them up like Pac-Man if my budget allowed.

And that is what makes me wonder, SeatedNut. Logan, in particular, should have his finger on the pulse of pricing, since he sells so many VAM's. He has 7 of these for sale on his site as we speak. In this instance, they're just being optimistic.

A PCGS MS63 went for $85 at Heritage last October. Another went for $174 on ebay last December. A beautiful, sharply-photographed easy 64 from a reliable seller did not get a bid at a $149 start on ebay, nor did an slab-attributed PCGS MS65 with a price of $399, both in the last 3 weeks.

Price has a component of demand, and the demand isn't there. That's my point.