VAMWorld 2.0

How is this different from the VAM 21A?

Took a shot a bidding on this but c'est la vie. I looked at it in hand at the ANA. I wasn't able to tie it to a specific VAM, but check out the damage from apparently repeated contact with the collar on the edge of the die. There's reeding almost all the way around the business end. https://coins.ha...

That's interesting, thanks John

There are examples where you can also make out the date. Still, this is particularly strong and clear

I've threatened to do a book or catalog of my collection of pieces with coining presses and the like. Seems like a project for when I retire or semi-retire at this rate. The jetons are surprisingly affordable for the most part. These two are both originals rather than later restrikes. Both are silve...

Yup, and the reverse hub from the host coin didn't exist until 1900

On the positive side, I picked a a few things for my collection. A 34-S VAM 3, an 82-S VAM 3(great acid treated reverse) along with a couple of 79-S marriages with over polished reverses paired with obverse dies used for the 79-S Rev of 78 issues. The US Mint had the proof Morgan and Peace Dollars f...

Wow, beat the rain driving back. Your airport experiences top the comedy at the restaurant on Thursday by far.

And you got to personally witness "It's not going to work out" at dinner

Honestly, if this is something you're interested in pursuing, almost all of it could be had by concentrating on just 78 Phillies. You'd just need a random 2 olive reverse and a C4 piece to go with a pair of 21's for the later design changes. There's a learning curve to understand the nomenclature fo...

When's the last time he tared his scale?

I'll be at the company table (222 &4) part of the time from Thursday afternoon thru Saturday when I feel like leaving. We should have a couple of chances at dinner and multiple impromptu meetings in front of tables.

There's a truly comical one on eBay right now, but it's grossly overpriced and misattributed. It's a live auction, so I won't post it

It's hard to find, but the larger issue is it's a date that doesn't get a lot of attention. That one JR List appearance is the only list anything from this date shows up on. Opportunities exist to find some interesting pieces in these underappreciated dates.

Nice, and a topic of recent discussion

Still a big fan of this variety. Still haven't found one in a Redfield holder either, but it's something worth looking for.

I'd leave them until we have a better set. Our best chance of tracking the thing down would be finding an earlier stage with less cracking. I'll make a note on the VAM 25 page

If that funky crack above the ES of STATES is there, it's a 25B, For the other stuff, it's still the same die even if the features blur.

But, yeah, we could use an image of the earlier stage of VAM 25 for the page

Let's try that image of the patent drawing again

Here's a couple of images for the press we're discussing. Page 1 of Smith's patent, and a bank of these presses at work in a Chinese mint in the early 20th century. The inverted arrangement was particularly effective for striking coins with center holes, like the struck 'cash' issues