What I’m talking about are common VAMs in ho-hum grades that are now regularly selling for two and three (or more) times than they did a year ago. I’ve probably entered more all-time high prices across the grade spectrum this year than I have in the previous 10 years combined. To say it’s ridiculous doesn’t come close to the lunacy that’s going on… and on and on.
This can’t be seasoned VAM collectors; they know what’s scarce and what’s not, and more or less what things are worth. So it has to be newcomers; beginners who don’t… well, who don’t know what they’re doing. And they’re doing it every single day, most often in the form of eBay Buy It Now or Make Offer listings. But not exclusively.
An auction at Heritage earlier this week was a huge example. Included in it were six Early Die State 1888-O Scarfaces, four graded by PCGS, one by NGC, and one by ANACS. Five were MS62s and one was a 63. All were attributed on the holder as Early Die State, except for the ANACS coin which said Harrison Stage 2 on the 0-10 Harrison scale. I judged four of the others to also be Stage 2, and the other perhaps being a scarce Stage 4.
Scarfaces, the “real” ones that are Harrison Stage 8, 9 or 10 and are labeled as Scarfaces by the major grading companies, are rare and expensive and there is huge demand for them outside of VAM circles.
EDS Scarfaces, with very few exceptions, are none of those things. Ash Harrison, who created the scale, has written that H2 is “by far the most common variety available”. Coins labeled EDS are numerous and have very often sold for less than $100 in MS62-63. And yet, look what happened in the Heritage auction:
- EDS Scarfaces copy.jpg (149.16 KiB) Viewed 5097 times
I can’t help but think that bidder(s) who don’t know the profound difference between EDS and “real” Scarfaces thought Christmas had come early, so they bid like they were getting the year’s biggest bargains. The consignor(s) may still be partying in celebration. The buyers will eventually learn the truth about what they did, most likely when they go to sell. It’s a sting that could last forever.
As the saying goes, knowledge is power. And in VAM collecting it is often profitable. But ignorance tends to be painfully expensive.
