VAMs. Where Is The Hobby Headed?

as always you are more than you want to be known......But that's OK..Its not about MEEEEE having CREDENTIALS, SO you will value or over ride any ones opinion as LORD....AS my ameba self has an opinion.. so to, do I express it..Those thoughts or Ideas can be understood by anyone..and taken in....Those facts will stand above who I am.....And those facts or Ideas will be weighted by those who listen and who think for themselves...Point the way......is subjective......both those who think and follow the norm.....look to the way......For some of us..
We have questions.......so to we look for answers with proof, rather than accept the quick of the norm....... I will let politics die right here.....but you understand my meaning....

your meaning? well I am having computer troubles, but I have only built them for 12 years so I have some dis-function here...I will Post REMMY to figure out what is going on.....and I won't comment on what you say you don't understand......you know more than most.....

That is definitely not true Gene. I know 'some' things. I know things that interest me. I know the press, I know 'certain' coins because they interested me at one time or another, and I find certain things hard to forget. I know very little about attribution and nothing cleaning or grading. I am not omniscient, not by a long shot, and I am not playing any games.

Talk to you later.
L.

Here we go again... "...they just don't have the LIME LIGHT as Morgans do." What about Peace dollars? HUH? THEY ARE VAMS TOO YA KNOW! JEEZ. GOSH. PFBLT! (a tongue/airy sound.... kinda like a fart)

In this fast paced world of ours we operate on so many levels certain in our assumptions never thinking that the basis for the assumptions might be flawed.

So it is in coin collecting.

Knowledge is power and how that power is used can make the difference between having a rewarding hobby certain and confident that you the collector have made the best choices or you the collector reflecting back on your hobby and realizing you were taken and were easy prey.

Earlier I posed criteria that I believe the collector must possess to be successful. Those criteria are: (1) the ability to accurately grade including discerning whether the coin you are considering purchasing has been cleaned, wiped, whizzed, artificially enhanced, artificially toned or counterfeit. Now add for VAMs the ability to accurately attribute the coin.
This gets tricky when you add various die states. (2) Besides having the disposable funds one must have clearly defined goals specific to your collecting needs. Many collectors don't specialize and that's okay, but that myopic view later on causes many to leave the hobby when they realize they can not complete their sets. (3) Collect for the fun of it. This is for your enjoyment. If you are collecting for investment purposes (these coins after all are 90% silver) you will be disappointed in the results. If you are looking to make a lot of money flipping coins, good luck as you have a lot of competition that has been at it longer than you.
(4)I believe vamming is more suited to the hobbyist.


Like any endeavor it comes with a price as there is what I consider a dark side to the hobby.

One of the alluring premises of vamming is the ability to look more closely at a coin and find very discernible differences. Finding an ultra rarity for common money is a thrill as it is a validation of your hard work, study and observation skills.

So you find one of these. What's next? As a collector you probably want to keep it as you own something so few will ever have. But what if you want to sell it? Is it really worth what some suggest? It is... if.....someone is willing to spend the money for it. That premise is true of anything. But ask yourself this: How many (collectors)are out there willing to pay that kind of money? Recently a coin was sold/traded whose value was around ten thousand dollars. It is a popular variety in mint state condition. But in the negotiation discussion it was brought up that there was only ten or fifteen people with that kind of money who could or would spend that kind of money for that particular variety. I was struck by that comment as the question is frequently asked, how many vammers are there? How many are serious vammers? There is a whole discussion to define serious.

The coin in question was graded and (correctly) attributed by one of the top tier grading companies.

But what happens to the collector if he purchases this coin raw? (ungraded, unattributed by a reputable third party grading company). He or she is thrilled to have purchased this coin only to discover (later)it has been cleaned (or worse). Moreover now there is little recourse to return the coin for a refund. How many have gone down this path? How many have quit their hobby over such as this?

I will type more later.

I say this as a collector. I would be THRILLED to find that $10,000 coin raw cleaned. (assuming I picked it and did not pay mucho $$$ for it) It would fill a huge hole. Even PCGS slabs are being counterfeited, so for those who buy the slab are even at risk these days. Would I quit over that? no. I believe most of those types of situations you suggest are internet based. I would change my collecting habits to only look at coins in hand if I were ever taken badly.

Fool me once shame on you.
Fool me twice shame on me.
Fool me a third time we both deserve it.

Also at the end of the day, if you have major successful picks, and lose a couple big ones, but over all are still on top, people will live with the bad to continue to get the good.

Okay, I have thought about it Terry, and conclude that you are 100% correct in all points. Beautiful post (the long post). I had considered all of this stuff before, and felt the same way about it, but you have a way with words that I do not.

(Define vammer).