1882 o/s morgan VAM?

atarian

whats a VAM

i hear that people classify 1882 O/S coins as VAM 3 VAM 2 .. what is VAM and how do i know which VAM my coin is if it has a VAM

ziggy29

VAM = "Van Allen / Mallis." They wrote a definitive book on Morgan and Peace dollars.

It would be money VERY well spent to get a copy of it and use it for reference before buying coins.

Educate yourself. THEN buy the coin.

davewang202

Mommy, what is a VAM?

A Morgan dollar is assigned a VAM number if the dies used to mint it is "an identifiably different die pair" from other VAMs.

There are 3 1882 O/S die pairs, hence 3 different VAM's, although each one of the three has two known die states, an early die state (EDS) and a late die state. The EDS coins are considerably rarer and considerably more expensive. The most expensive being the VAM 4 EDS. The last time an AU showed up, it fetched something like $2500, IIRC. (I don't remember exactly...)

Rob Joyce has a nice web site with pictures that show you the differences here

Wolf359

There were 3 different dies that created the O/S coins, categorized as VAMs 3,4, and 5. The mintmarks on each look different.

VAM-3 and what it looks like.
VAM-4
VAM-5

BTW, early die states are among the first coins struck off the dies. Less metal was transfered, and they trade at a premium. If you find a VAM-4 EDS, name your price. Only a couple (4 ????) are known to exist.