VAM Questions

yep, every single morgan is a VAM, just some are worth more than others. The best way to go about attribution is to post detailed pictures here and let SuperDave see all the 1921's you have

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Originally posted by SuperDave

Show me the money!

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Yeah!! Big clear pictures please.

Ok So I have 11 pictures total, but to start I'll just post the obverse pics so I don't jam up this thread. If you need the reverse pics I will post them. The fairly small amount of luster this coin has was 'deleted' by the microscope, so I hope that helps. A green hue was also added by the microscope,but the coin is a normal color. If you need any pictures of zoomed in areas, or any areas I didn't cover, just tell me, and I'll post them. Thanks so much!

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Originally posted by Bryan1315

yep, every single morgan is a VAM

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I never knew that they attributed ALL Morgans....

MM

Ok sounds good! I'm surprised that you attributed that so fast! Here are the additional pics you wanted, and if you are up for it, I have some nicer looking 1921s that I don't know much about. For the second picture, the coin in question is above.

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The reason I asked for the missing pic is because 1921-P's have a series of VAM's associated with die pitting, and most of the details are in that area. Yours doesn't show any of that, and the reeding looks like the normal count.

I have a gallery of my stuff started here:

http://www.compucoin.com/gallery/main.php

As of right now, only the 1921-P's are posted, and I'm editing captions and such as we speak.

I'm always interested in looking at 1921 Morgans. Post 'em up!

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Originally posted by madhandles761991

I will post more pics later today of the other coin, but which VAM number is this coin? I am trying to add it to my heritage collection.

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We've eliminated about a third of the possibilities so far.

Here you go:

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

Those are just the updates since the last edition of the VAM Encyclopedia - there are 112 different 1921-P VAM's listed there. It'll give you an idea what I go through when helping attribute 1921's. Bryan, with the 1878's, is in worse shape - he has over 200 just from the Philadelphia mint to juggle.

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Originally posted by madhandles761991

I don't know how you do it man. That is incredible! What steps do we take next? I don't see any clash marks or other significant markers.

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You have a microscope, I gather. It takes nice shots, by the way. Have you greater magnification? If so, we need 50x-60x.

Now we look for doubling. First, the stars on the obverse. If they're doubled, chances are they'll be doubled (or tripled or more) towards the rim, meaning the "steps" will go downward towards the rim. It could be either the left or right side, or both. We also look for doubling on the lettering, both sides. Again, it'll likely be towards the rim.

There are a few 1921-P's with pitting on the obverse. It will be around one or another right-side star, looking like little raised bumps. Here's an extreme example from a VAM-3G:



Obverse pitting on 1921's isn't nearly as dense, but this will give you an idea of what to look for.

There are also a few die polishing line VAM's for 1921-P's. Here's another fairly extreme example from my collection, a VAM-1G:



All of those lines you see which look like scratches are raised on the actual coin, from the die being polished because of cracks or rust. On 1921-P's, you're more likely to see them on the reverse than the obverse.

Beginning to get an idea why we tend to narrow our focus with VAM collecting? Even the generalists tend to limit themselves to the more obvious or valuable VAM's, except for the true scholars who have the means to devote full-time hours to research.