If you think that VAMS are easy to find, then take a look at this!

JadeRareCoin

I went through several hundred silver dollars over the weekend to look for VAMS. Out of over 500 silver dollars, I only found seven (7) Top 100 VAMS and 1 1921 Morgan with some cool die cracks. That's it! I think that some of the Top 100 VAMS are underrated.


Most of the pile that I went through.



The fruits of my labor: 7 Top 100 VAMS and 1 1921 Morgan with cool die cracks. Sorry for the blurry image.

kieferscoins

Do you think that group has been searched for vams before?

Cameron Kiefer

JadeRareCoin

No. It was a "fresh deal". One that was put together by a silver hoarder over the years. If it had been picked through, I would have probably found nothing. And believe me, I have had supposed "fresh deals" that were more picked through than a bargain bin at WalMart the day after Thanksgiving!

nesvt

Did you look for all VAMs ("Hot 50" and others) or compare to the specific listings in the Top 100 book?

JadeRareCoin

Did you look for all VAMs ("Hot 50" and others) or compare to the specific listings in the Top 100 book?

I did check beyond the Top 100 and included some Hot 50 and others. I didn't have much time, so I was mainly looking for coins that would carry a premium. I have attributed Morgans in the past by VAM varities only to learn that they don't draw a premium unless they are a Top 100 or Hot 50. Although I must admit that Morgans and Peace Dollars are not my thing.

Sphinx357

no rare dates in the bunch?

Wolf359

7 out of 500 coins is very good ratio. Many rare vams are far tougher than that. What did you find?

JadeRareCoin

7 out of 500 coins is very good ratio. Many rare vams are far tougher than that. What did you find?

Really? I thought that was not very good. I would expect that with bust halves, but on an unsearched lot of Morgans, I was expecting more. Here's what I found:

1892-O, VAM-7, DDO (doubled ear)
1882-O/S, VAM-3 ---- this was the coolest find, imo
1888-O, VAM-2 (medium oval O)
Three (3) 1896, VAM-19, misplaced digit (8 in dentils) -- all unc.
1896, VAM-4, DDO (stars heavily doubled)

And the coin that you would be most interested in...............


EDITED TO SAY: these breaks are on a 21-D Morgan

RVDavis

I think a ratio of 7 out of 500 is excellent. My experience is probably closer to 200 coins per significant VAM. They aren't all that common.

Nice find on the 1882 O/S; I found a VAM 3 and a VAM 5 this weekend in the 1882 O certainly the best VAM hunt I have had in some time.

Rick

Wolf359

Nice LDS vam-1J. Very cool!

Rampage

Awesome finds! The best I have done was right here at my local coin shop where I found 12 Top 100's in about 500 Morgans. See the link below for what I got. Later searches in the dealer's box yielded more, but the first time around must have worn out my eyes.

http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=26&threadid=339844&highlight_key=y&keyword1=VAM&keyword2=VAMS