Heritage Auctions

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Originally posted by Diane
Wow! Thanks, SuperDave! I had no idea.

I bought Bowers' Guide Book of Morgan silver dollars, because I have a few. I thought a whole book on one coin ought to tell me everything I needed to know. But now I realize I don't really know what I have.

How can I find out about VAMs?

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The Comprehensive Catalog and Encyclopedia of Morgan and Peace Dollars, by Van Allen and Malis, remains the authoritative writing on the subject. It's an incredible source of information, over 500 pages of wealth. However, it was last printed in 1992. It's still the book to have if you only have one book on Morgans. It's hard to find, and not cheap when you find it. Make sure you get the 4th Edition if you pull the trigger.

Leroy Van Allen is still naming new VAM's to this day. He is the man who decides, because it's his initials on them.

Here's the listing of VAM's identified since 1992:

http://www.ashmore.com/vamupdate/92...Flisting.htm

There's also a great photographic compilation of them, but I don't like linking to that because the owner of the website, "Ash" Ashmore, is paying for the (huge) bandwidth out of his own pocket. That fact seems to be getting ignored by many who have linked to the archive without mention of compensating Mr. Van Allen for his work (which is how Ashmore wishes it done). There are also printed updates available from Mr. Van Allen himself; prices and instructions are available at the Ashmore site.

Your next-best method for finding out about VAM's is to post here. There are a few real devotees here, and they (we ) are happy to help because it helps us learn also.