VAMWorld 2.0

If die records for the Engraving Department existed, it might be possible to match left-over CC dies to those sent to New Orleans - every die was tracked even when it was renumbered. But those records seem to be missing. We have to work with what is available, and do what is possible to gradually in...

Rapid cracking of silver dollars dies had been a problem at the New Orleans Mint for several years. This letter, from January 1900, led to temporary assignment of Albert W. Downing from Philadelphia. Downing, Foreman of the Philadelphia Mint Coining Room and an experienced machinist, was given the t...

NNP offers silver dollar variety collectors the opportunity to examine original documents, including many quoted in hobby books. Also, files never before examined will be posted; and these can contain information that opens new ideas on various coins and events leading to their production.

Several new files have been uploaded to NNP. These include entire volumes and file boxes each containing several hundred to over 1,000 pages. These include Letters Received by HQ during the last week of December 1899 and first 2 weeks of January 1900, (E-229 Box 106, 107.) and the same period for 19...

Well....the next books will come with a special "Time Dilation" chip. This will expand your reading time without subtracting from the rest of your day.

It's still experimental.

Much better reads are: Guide Book to Peace Dollars (Whitman Publishing LLC) and Renaissance of American Coinage 1916-1921 (Seneca Mill Press LLC)....but they will take longer.

New Orleans standard silver dollar output for the first month suggests that one press was in operation on this denomination. If we assume the souvenir engraved coin was from Feb 27, then it is very likely to be from die pair #1. Without a table of die life (see 1900-S and 1881-S tables) we can't tel...

Not sure if collectors have this New Orleans Mint information, so I'm posting a photo here.

Pay special attention to the upper surfaces of inscriptions, the detail and roundness of rays, and so forth on both sides. We are so accustomed to seeing multiple "flat" areas that we have nothing for comparison. That's the purpose of posting the photo.

Most of these files were tossed into file boxes and forgotten. Their companions are dried out rubber bands, rusted metal clips, straight pins, brass page fasteners and the occasional centenarian comatose insect critter. No alien life forms have been seen - yet. But, some of the handwriting looks mor...

The 1900-S Life of Dies table is a good start. We know that these dies were shipped in small lots (such as #1-5, etc.) and it would make sense from an operational perspective to list them on the table in order of use. As can be readily seen, there are probably many more die pairings than numeric "pa...

An interesting letter concerning the first silver dollar to leave the New Orleans Mint in 1879.

There's a lot more on NNP, I was only highlighting some that would contain items of interest to VAM enthusiasts. Entry 1 includes letters beginning in 1792. Entries 214, 215, 216, and 218 include much materials from about 1835 to 1870. Anyone with interest in a specific time period can contact me an...

It's OK to glue it someplace if it will help members.

Thanks to the Newman Numismatic Portal (NNP) supported by the Eric P Newman Numismatic Education Society, collectors of Morgan and Peace dollars (and other coins) have access to a growing stock of original documents from the U.S. Mint archives held at the National Archives and Records Administration...

A key "takeaway" is that the numeric "grade" and strength of detail are not related to one anther by the TPGs. Thus, the posted photo could be anywhere from "AU-58 to MS-68" and still have the same detail as shown. My suggestion is to look for the best possible detail first, then numeric grade. Also...

Messydesk's comment is on the nose. My opinion is that in this instance detail overrides a bit of wear or a few marks. But -- be very critical and look for detail throughout the coin, not just on the central hair. The mumps observation is consistent with President Harding's complaint about Liberty's...

Many collectors want to have a 1921 Peace dollar as an example of the only high relief circulation coin that is reasonably affordable. Finding a really nice example is a challenge, but not impossible, especially if some idiosyncrasies of this one-year issue are understood. First, fully 90+% of the i...

A 1921 with detail similar to the posted photo is almost "never too expensive."

In the early 1960s it was commonplace to find 1/2 or more of a fresh bag containing PL dollars....Much depended on the number of presses being run on the day the coins were struck. I recall a local bank teller pouring out a bag of glittering Morgans and complainant to me that they were all the same ...