Question for Morgan VAM experts....

Myqqy

I just picked up an 1889-O morgan dollar in an old PCI holder. I don't have any images of it yet, so I'll have to use a substitute picture to ask my question. On the reverse, there are some raised lines that I believe are clash marks from the obverse design. I drew some red lines on this substitute pic to show where the raised lines are on the 1889-O- what type of VAM is this, and does it carry any sort of premium? Or is it just add a little bit of cool factor to it? Thanks for any input....

TommyType

I don't think clashing alone is generally the defining attribute for a VAM number. The exception being the "Clashed E" varieties.

Myqqy

The exception being the "Clashed E" varieties.

That's what I'm confused about. In Bowers' book about Morgans, he mentions in the page about the 1889-O the VAM-1A, and has four pictures with that caption. The third photo down he has in his book is the exact clash mark on my Morgan that I tried to illustrate to the right of the eagle's wing (the right side of the coin). But my particular Morgan doesn't have a "raised E" below the eagle tail feathers.... so I'm confused.....

MAD4MORGANS

You should check real close for the Clashed E.
Sometimes you may have to tilt the coin around in the light to catch it.

For Your Info, I typed this onto a notebook page so when going through coins I refer to it when I look for Clashed E's or Partial E's. I copied this information from somewhere in my readings. Regardless of this list, Clashed E's are one of those things I automatically look for on any of my coins. This list might help for their relative scarcity.

I haven't checked to see if there is any VAM associated with yours yet, but in my book the more clashes and stuff on a coin the better!!

CLASHED E

FULL
1886-O
1889-O SCARCEST
1891-0 MOST COMMON

PARTIAL E

1878-P VAM-84
1880-P
1883-O
1887-P
1888-O
1891-O

nesvt

Someone told me that 1 out of every 25 is clashed. My Morgan collection is relatively small, and I'm closer to 1 out of every 5.

On some VAMs, the clashing shows on the obverse in a couple of places. Check the hairvee and below Liberty's neck (below the clash line you probably see).

Myqqy

You should check real close for the Clashed E.

I did check very closely, but alas, saw no sign of a raised clashed E. So, by my estimation, the three clashed marks correspond to the juncture of liberty's cap with her hair, the juncture of her neck to her chin, and the area around her lips/nose. But no E.
So, it sounds like this information alone isn't enough to identify a VAM?

DorkGirl

There are a lot of vams coming out with clashed dies. Some are very difficult to see without a scope. The n clash on the front of her neck, the t or st clash between the cap and her hair, the m clash I can't fiqure out yet. Most of these are just a hint of a letter and tough to see without a scope of some kind. It's another one of those things you need to train your eye to see.....

Some have multiple clashes, there is one that is a 3 over 2, 5 distinct clashes in 2 different areas on the coin. Just clashing alone may not be a vam.

If you haven't spent any time over on Ashmore's site, look at the pics of the vam updates, it will give you some insight to these. Some of their pictures will knock your socks off