PCGS Grades/VAMs In....

Coxe

All bought and submitted raw and cherrypicked near melt or common prices. The grading+shipping cost more than the coins.

1878 VAM-84 MS63 -- actually VAM-84A; estimated MS64
1880 VAM-11 MS63 -- actually VAM-11A; estimated MS63 (from my hoard of 11As)
1880 VAM-23 VF35 -- estimated VF30
1887/6 VAM-2 MS63 -- estimated MS63 and hoped for PL
1892-O VAM-7 XF45 -- estimated XF45
1896-O VAM-19 Altered Surfaces -- estimated AU50 and didn't think it would grade
1921-D VAM-1N AU58 -- estimated AU50; LDS

All in all, I am pretty pleased with the results. Wish the 87/6 had gone 63PL. I have a 62PL and probably now will keep both.

CalGold

An 1887/6 MS63 at near melt! And you wanted it to go PL on the first try no less. That is chutzpa.

CG

RVDavis

Well done John.

Coxe

<< <i>An 1887/6 MS63 at near melt! And you wanted it to go PL on the first try no less. That is chutzpa.

CG >>



That one I got at common price and not melt (the circs were around melt). It is a good one in illustrating the profit structure in VAMs though. The guy I bought from buys from the public as bullion. He probably paid a happy person $15 for the coin. In turn, he is happy making $25 from me in an easy near flip. I used my discrimination of the variety and spent time and money to send it to PCGS to potentially make 20X the dealer's profit. For this one, he should have taken the 10 seconds to look for this well-known redbook variety himself. I get that charge form a few that we cherrypickers are abusing dealers and even have one local guy who will not show me coins becasue he knows I cherrypick effectively. Yet he will keep the same coins inventoried longer and sell for the same price I would have paid as a price ofr insecure saisfaction of keeping me at bay. Such an odd business. Most dealers are not that way though.

DennisH

Very nice John! Keep 'er going.

greghansen

Yet he will keep the same coins inventoried longer and sell for the same price I would have paid as a price of insecure saisfaction of keeping me at bay.

Yea, I don't get that either. That type of response would only be justified if a cherrypicking customer made a point of bragging about 'picking' the dealer to the dealers' other customers. Then the dealer might want to protect his reputation by eliminating the problem client.

Coxe

Yep. I never say who I pick from, or at least very rarely. I think most of us regulars know this guy from here in San Diego. There was a thread about it a year or so ago.

CalGold

John,

You are totally correct.

Although some dealers may think that VAMers are a pain in the butt, the prudent dealer welcome them since they provide liquidity by buying up coins that otherwise would gather dust in inventory. As you said, if the dealer wanted to take the time and effort to learn varieties he could. A lot of dealers are not interested in doing that for the esoteric VAMS, but you would think that they would at least look at the 1887 P and O coins for overdates.

Congratulations on that cherry pick.

CG