Yet another 1878-s Vam Question....

BIGDAVE

At first i thought is was a vam 2 Broken R ... that would be type II/1 Obverse B2b Rev, Then after Looking I noticed the #4 Star was Broken That would make the obverse type II/2 so not vam two...then i looked up the B2b rev it has a open O mine does not so i must have a B2c rev broken R My Brain is Killing Me Help!!!!!!!!!!

dwssws

anything else going on with coin to help identify. cant see lower rt wing clearly to try and identify reverse. anything on obv to help narrow down besides broken star.

K6AZ

David, you may want to get in touch with Jeff, jdsinva. He is very much involved in the 78-S VAMs.

jdsinva

BigDave,

You're confusing 7TF reverses with 1878-S reverses. From the wing, I can tell your coin has the reverse that is shared with VAMs 5, 7 & 46. VAM 5 has distinct doubling on the obverse, VAM 46 has the wormeye, a squiggly, raised line on the temple area behind the eye and if it's neither, then it's VAM 7. I'm at work so I don't have my notes with me but this should help you narrow it down.

BIGDAVE

The Obverse has uequally divided rear portion of ear ...There is NO doubling That is why i thought it was a vam 2

II/1 obverse but the star is Broken that Puts me to II/2 obverse

BIGDAVE

HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY ERIC is Back

BIGDAVE

There is no Doubling in Liberty the 8's are not doubled so it can not be vam 7 or 5 Argggggggggggg It is driving me Nut's

K6AZ

<< <i>HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY ERIC is Back >>



I didn't know I went anywhere!

Don't worry, when Jeff gets home I'm sure he can help you figure out which one it is. Is that the one you bought from me?

BIGDAVE

Yes Eric At first look The obverse is perfect so with a broken R i thought it was a vam 2 .. when i went thru all the coins last night i saw the Broken Star and that is not in the desciption of a vam 2???

Your Icon one look and i know who it is

K6AZ

Initially I planned to only use the cat for a day or so. I left her up for almost a month because just after I uploaded her as an avitar, she was killed by one of the maniac drivers around here.

Oh, an update for those who followed that situation. Last week I got a call from the deputy who handles traffic enforcement. They did an enforcement action up here and handed out 27 citations. He told me the worst one was a citation for doing 72mph around a curve on the road that leads in here. The posted speed is 35mph. That guy's going to pay.

jdsinva

BigDave,

Here are some markers to help identify which VAM you might have. . .

VAM 5 has LIBERTY doubled down and this marker near the curl below the ear


VAM 7 has this marker in the ear


VAM 46 has the worm eye

BIGDAVE

Jeff I Dont think it is Vam 5 or vam 7 or vam 46
Vam 5 double Liberty .... Liberty is Not Doubled
Vam 7 The Pimple in the Ear 'No'
Vam 46 Worm eye No
It is Nut's I tell you

mikebombs

oops

jdsinva

We can eliminate VAM 5 since it doesn't have the broken star point. The worm eye is fairly obvious and I didn't see it in your image, so that leaves VAM 7 to work with. Let me look at some of my VAM 7 coins again and see if I can come up with something that you have in common.

dwssws

bigdave said that the #4 star was broken

BIGDAVE

Yes the #4 Star is Broken Look at the op Picture's

jdsinva

<< <i>Yes the #4 Star is Broken Look at the op Picture's >>



That is why I said we can eliminate VAM 5 since VAM 5 does not have a broken star. VAMs 7 & 46 do have a broken star. However, I don't believe it is VAM 46 either. This leaves VAM 7 to work with.

mikebombs

it is a VAM 2! broken r and a II 1 obverse.

Then after Looking I noticed the #4 Star was Broken That would make the obverse type II/2 so not vam two...

that is where you made a mistake. look at the vam 1 obverse it has a broken 4th star on the right, the obverse is II 1.

My Brain is Killing Me Help!!!!!!!!!!

VAM 2 all along. killing everyone elses too.

jdsinva

<< <i>VAM 2 all along. killing everyone elses too. >>



I'm sorry but I will have to respectfully disagree. The reverse is plainly B2i and the coin is a VAM 7. LIBERTY is doubled down, in the picture I've seen. Most people do not know, unless they've been following along with the 1878-S VAMs. VAM 2 has never been verified and likely doesn't exist.

David, thanks for the image you sent. I could glean from that that your coin is the VAM 7. Of the three VAMs that share that reverse, the VAM 7 is the toughest to locate. I have numerous VAMs 5 & 46 but only a couple of VAM 7.

mikebombs

<< <i>

<< <i>VAM 2 all along. killing everyone elses too. >>



I'm sorry but I will have to respectfully disagree. The reverse is plainly B2i and the coin is a VAM 7. LIBERTY is doubled down, in the picture I've seen. Most people do not know, unless they've been following along with the 1878-S VAMs. VAM 2 has never been verified and likely doesn't exist.

David, thanks for the image you sent. I could glean from that that your coin is the VAM 7. Of the three VAMs that share that reverse, the VAM 7 is the toughest to locate. I have numerous VAMs 5 & 46 but only a couple of VAM 7. >>



I'm new to this so can you explain this a little better? I thought VAM 2 was just VAM 1 plus broken r. Plus Dave stated that liberty was not doubled. To be VAM 7 the nose, lips, chin, and neck have to be doubled plus doubled 887.

Also can you please teach me how to identify engraved feathers? I can’t figure it out from the pictures.

BIGDAVE

I can not Load A big Picture only49k... so i sent Jeff A 586kb picture so he could have a real good look.

My mistake Liberty is Doubled Down .......... It is toned so i could not see..Thank you Jeff A VAM 7

dwssws

nice find glad you were finally able to figure out the vam

jdsinva

<< <i>I'm new to this so can you explain this a little better? I thought VAM 2 was just VAM 1 plus broken r. Plus Dave stated that liberty was not doubled. To be VAM 7 the nose, lips, chin, and neck have to be doubled plus doubled 887.

Also can you please teach me how to identify engraved feathers? I can’t figure it out from the pictures. >>



David sent me a better image via email and I could see that LIBERTY was doubled down and the 4th right star point is broken. VAM 5 doesn't have a broken star so that leaves VAM 7, which is what this coin is. Since studying several hundred 1878-S VAMs, I must make this caveat that when an 1878-S VAM description makes mention of doubling, it is often difficult to see except under high (microscope) magnification. And some of it is ever so slight that if the coin gets circulated, you would never see it anyway. Any doubling of LIBERTY, however, is another matter and is usually quite easy to determine.

I know of no easy way to learn to identify engraved wings other than to see examples of them. I learned the 1878-S VAMs by (eventually) buying serveral hundred of them and from being mentored by another highly dedicated VAM hound who refused to give up and learned on his own, by buying scores of 1878-S coins and studying them. Supposedly Larry Briggs is writing an attribution guide for the 1878-S but I'm not sure anything has gelled up with that effort. I have my own personal notes and images that I use to help identify the 1878-S series. With the 1878-S, there are still new varieties surfacing, which help makes this series exciting. Even I, in the hills of Virginia away from all the numismatic hot spots around the country, have found a new 1878-S variety and had it attributed by Leroy Van Allen (VAM 88 is me!).

mikebombs

Even I, in the hills of Virginia away from all the numismatic hot spots around the country, have found a new 1878-S variety and had it attributed by Leroy Van Allen (VAM 88 is me!).

Very cool! and thanks for the reply!