What VAMs are the hot ones right now?

DMWJR

I'm thinking of going through my sets and selling off a few. Any ideas? I haven't worked on my VAMs for a couple of years now.

VamGuy

My opinion only....

The coins listed in the newly published book "Elite Clashed Morgan Dollars" by Dr. Mark Kimpton. It's a group of very interesting clashed die varieties.

Any variety with a major die break is also hot. Of course, almost all of the TOP 100 varieties are still widely collected as well.

DennisH

There are at least a few degrees of "hot", but these seem to be red-hot:

pretty much every 1878 VAM 14.11 through 14.20
1878 VAM 44
1888-O Scarface
1888-O Hot Lips
1890-CC Tailbar
1901 Shifted Eagle
1903 Micro-S

matteproof

The 1888-O Scarface is extremely popular, exceedingly difficult to find, and unfortunately costly. It is a Vam that truly matters because it is beyond VAM. matteproof

Coxe

In general, any of the Top list VAMs that have obnious features that can be appreciated by most collectors with the maked eye or little magnification are hot: scarfaces, hotlips, tailbars, ... Fanatical specialists are increasingly chasing clashed dies and terminal die state pieces, cherrying them as possible but some also paying a decent premium for them too. I wouldn't count 1878 out, but 1878-S and all three 1921 mints are very hot right now. Cuds, pitted dies, all full breaks, and thornheads have a growing following at all levels of collecting experience.

DMWJR

<< <i>There are at least a few degrees of "hot", but these seem to be red-hot:

pretty much every 1878 VAM 14.11 through 14.20
1878 VAM 44
1888-O Scarface
1888-O Hot Lips
1890-CC Tailbar
1901 Shifted Eagle
1903 Micro-S >>




Doesn't seem like the list has changed much in three years if this is it.

I would never sell my primary set, but do a LOT of dupes that I am thinking of selling. Like one of my VAM 44's. One I would never sell is the MS60 VAM44 that the kid found at the show in California. The story is detailed on the vamlink site. But, I do have another that is in a PCI MS61PL holder. The coin is not a 61, but is PL (not uncommon for 44's). It also has some hairlines that would probably preclude it from getting in a PCGS holder. Why did I buy it? It's a VAM44!!!!!!!!!! I've probably got 250 1878p's including two each of the proof varieties. (Does anyone collect proofs as VAM numbers? I think I was just plain nuts when I was doing this!)

Really my question was more about any new VAM's that have become the rage. For a long time Leroy kept a lid on new VAM's but it seems that they have exploded over the last year or so. Sometimes when I hear of a new one, I pull out that date/mm and check to see if any of them are this "new" variety. I did discover that I had one of those fakes last year!! Boy was I surprised!

messydesk

Rare 8TF show ho signs of cooling off (VAM 5, 9, 14.5-14.9, 14.11-14.20, 15)
Rare 7TF Rev. of '78 (VAM 116, 166, 188, 189, others).
Clashed E reverses, except maybe 1884 VAM 2A.
Rarer 1921-D die breaks.
1921-S VAM 1Bx series (1B6 is most common).
1888-O VAM 1B Scarface.
1901 VAM 3 shifted eagle EF and better.
1903-S VAM 2 Micro S VF30 and better.
Plus some others I don't have.