VAMWorld 2.0

Accuracy.
Reliability.
Consistency.
Confidence.
Trust.
Reputation.

Attributing VAMs is a risky business. Some are painfully subtle, which is why the more different VAMs a grading company tries to identify, the more chances there are it will get some wrong. And when it does, the errors are right there on the label for the world to see.

It's even more embarrassing when the error involves a big, bold, glaringly obvious and incredibly simple-to-attribute VAM that carries a big value premium. Mistakes happen. But what is the takeaway when the error happens over and over?

For me it's a simple question: Why doesn't PCGS care?

I've skewered PCGS a couple of times lately over their attribution ineptitude with 1921-D VAM 1A. It's the incredibly popular and neon-obvious Top 100 "TRU_T" variety whose S in TRUST is missing due to grease/dirt/crud fill in that part of the die.

There are currently 5 PCGS-graded and attributed "TRU_T"s listed on eBay. Three of them are 100% correct. A fourth, however, is miles from deserving to be called a TRU_T. About 90% of the S is still there and even calling it "weak" is a big stretch in my opinion.

Then there is coin number 5. Take a look at these photos and tell me what we are supposed to think:


And here's one more photo to consider:



This coin above is an MS63 on the VAM 1A CoinFacts page on the PCGS website. If it is really what PCGS thinks is a representative example of a TRU_T, I will shout that it is absolutely not what collectors should accept as a TRU_T.

Why doesn't PCGS care?

Why doesn't PCGS care? Because people find the PCGS case to be more important than the coin. ANACS would have a greater market share if they retained their small white cases, which is nicer than any case they used later, and nicer than any NGC or PCGS case. ANACS would also have obtained a greater market share if they promoted sets and competitions similar to the PCGS sets and competitions. ANACS may also have obtained a greater market share if they promoted their ability to correctly attribute AMERICAN coins, and at lower cost, and at a faster turn around than their competition. Some people at ANACS made serious errors when they decided that silver colored coins should go in cases that have orange or yellow labels, or that gold colored coins should go into cases that have blue labels.