Top 100 Morgan VAMs
The "Top 100" Morgan Dollar varieties are a distillation of the thousands of die varieties discovered by the VAM authors (an acronym of the authors' names of Van Allen and Mallis) into the most important, rarest, and/or most readily discernible varieties. Authors Fey and Oxman (developers of the Top 100 list) explain it best: "Of these 2000 [VAM] varieties, only a fraction spark (sic) the interest of non-variety collectors. For instance, of the 51 known 1881-S die varieties, not one produces a premium in the marketplace. What's wrong? Actually, there's nothing wrong - it's just that VAM collecting requires a clearer focus. And that is the purpose of this book - to supply the reader with specific information about the 'Top 100' varieties in the Morgan dollar series in order to highlight those varieties which are collected, bought and sold on a premium basis."
The following list differs from the original Top 100 VAM list in that certain of the Micro-O varieties have been delisted after they were discovered to be counterfeits.
Sources and/or recommended reading:
"Comprehensive Catalog and Encyclopedia of Morgan & Peace Dollars" by Leroy C. Van Allen and A. George Mallis
"The Top 100 Morgan Dollar Varieties: The VAM Keys" by Michael S. Fey, Ph.D and Jeff Oxman
| PCGS # | Description |
|---|---|
| 133788 | 1878 8TF Doubled RIB (VAM 5) |
| 133792 | 1878 8TF 1st Die Pair (VAM 9) |
| 133806 | 1878 8TF Wild Eye (VAM 14.11) |
| 133816 | 1878 8TF Doubled LIBERTY (VAM 15) |
| 133824 | 1878 8TF Crazy Lips (VAM 23) |
| 133827 | 1878 Weak 7/8TF 7/3 (VAM 32) |
| 133828 | 1878 Strong 7/8TF 7/7 (VAM 41) |
| 133829 | 1878 Weak 7/8TF Triple Blossoms (VAM 44) |
| 133830 | 1878 7TF R78 Double Talons (VAM 45) |
| 133831 | 1878 7TF R78 Doubled RIB (VAM 70) |
| 133832 | 1878 7TF R78 Type 1 Obverse (VAM 100) |
| 133834 | 1878 7TF R78 Triple Blossom (VAM 198 [formerly 199.1] or VAM 115) |
| 133836 | 1878 7TF R78 Tripled Star (VAM 141 or VAM 117) |
| 133837 | 1878 7TF R78 Tripled R (VAM 171) |
| 133838 | 1878 7TF R79 Short Leaf (VAM 203) |
| 133839 | 1878 7TF R79 Tripled R (VAM 220) |
| 133840 | 1878 7TF R79 Washed Out L (VAM 223) |
| 133841 | 1878-CC Doubled Leaves (VAM 6 or VAM 18) |
| 133843 | 1878-CC Lines in Wing (VAM 11) |
| 133844 | 1878-CC Doubled Leaves (VAM 24) |
| 133845 | 1878-S Long Arrow Shaft (VAM 26-27, VAM 56-60, VAM 62 or VAM 72) |
| 133854 | 1879-O over Horizontal O (VAM 4 or VAM 28) |
| 7088 | 1879-CC Capped Die (VAM 3) |
| 7094 | 1879-S Reverse of 1878 (VAM 4, VAM 6, VAM 9, VAM 23, VAM 25, VAM 34-35, VAM 39, VAM 42-43, VAM 46, or VAM 50-52) |
| 133870 | 1880 Knobbed 8 (VAM 1A) |
| 133871 | 1880 8/7 Spikes (VAM 6) |
| 133872 | 1880 8/7 Crossbar (VAM 7) |
| 133873 | 1880 8/7 Ears (VAM 8) |
| 133874 | 1880 8/7 Stem (VAM 9) |
| 133875 | 1880/79 (VAM 23) |
| 133876 | 1880/79-CC Reverse of 1878 (VAM 4) |
| 7102 | 1880-CC 8/7 High 7 (VAM 5) or 8/7 Low 7 (VAM 6 ) |
| 133879 | 1880-O Hangnail (VAM 48) |
| 7116 | 1880/79-O Crossbar (VAM 4 or VAM 5) |
| 133882 | 1880-O 8/7 Ear (VAM 6 or VAM 6A) |
| 133884 | 1880-O 8/7Ear Hangnail (VAM 49) |
| 133885 | 1880-O Doubled Ear (VAM 43) |
| 7120 | 1880/79-S Medium S (VAM 8) or Large S (VAM 9) |
| 133888 | 1880-S 8/7 Crossbar (VAM 10) |
| 133889 | 1882-O/S Flush or EDS (VAM 3) |
| 133891 | 1882-O/S Recessed or EDS (VAM 4) |
| 87138 | 1882-O/S Broken or EDS (VAM 5) |
| 133895 | 1882-O O (VAM 7) |
| 133896 | 1883 Sextupled Stars (VAM 10) |
| 133897 | 1883-O/O (VAM 4) |
| 133898 | 1884 Large Dot (VAM 3) or Small Dot (VAM 4) |
| 133900 | 1884-O/O (VAM 6) |
| 42666 | 1885-S/S (VAM 6 or VAM 9) |
| 133902 | 1886 Line in 6 (VAM 1A) or Line in M, Misplaced Date (VAM 21) |
| 133904 | 1886 Doubled Arrows (VAM 17) |
| 133905 | 1886-O Clashed E (VAM 1A) |
| 42790 | 1886-S/S (VAM 2) |
| 133907 | 1887 Donkey Tail (VAM 1A) |
| 7174 | 1887/6 (VAM 2) |
| 133909 | 1887 Doubled Date (VAM 5) |
| 133910 | 1887 Alligator Eye (VAM 12) |
| 133911 | 1887-O Double 1, Triple 7 (VAM 2) |
| 7178 | 1887/6-O (VAM 3) |
| 133913 | 1887-O Doubled Stars (VAM 5) |
| 133914 | 1887-O DDO, Pitted Reverse (VAM 22A) |
| 42937 | 1887-S/S (VAM 2) |
| 133916 | 1888 Doubled Ear (VAM 11) |
| 133917 | 1888-O Clashed E (VAM 1A) |
| 87184 | 1888-O Scarface (VAM 1B) |
| 7308 | 1888-O Hot Lips (VAM 4) |
| 133920 | 1888-O Doubled Arrows (VAM 9) |
| 133921 | 1888-O Oval O (VAM 2, VAM 5-6, VAM 17-18, VAM 21, VAM 24, or VAM 34) |
| 133928 | 1889 Bar Wing (VAM 19A or VAM 22) |
| 133930 | 1889-O Clashed E (VAM 1A) |
| 133931 | 1889-O Oval O (VAM 2 or VAM 17) |
| 133933 | 1889-O Doubled Date (VAM 6) |
| 87198 | 1890-CC Tailbar (VAM 4) |
| 133935 | 1891 Doubled Ear (VAM 2) or Doubled Ear/Moustache (VAM 2A) |
| 133937 | 1891-CC Spitting Eagle (VAM 3) |
| 133938 | 1891-O Clashed E (VAM 1A) |
| 133939 | 1891-S Doubled Stars (VAM 3) |
| 133940 | 1892-O Doubled Ear (VAM 7) |
| 133941 | 1892-S Doubled Date (VAM 2) |
| 133942 | 1893 Doubled Stars (VAM 4) |
| 133943 | 1895-S over Horizontalk S (VAM 4) |
| 133944 | 1896 Doubled Stars (VAM 4) |
| 133945 | 1896 8 in Denticles (VAM 19) |
| 133946 | 1897 Pitted Reverse (VAM 6A) |
| 133947 | 1899-O Micro O (VAM 4, VAM 6 or VAM 31-32) |
| 133951 | 1899-O Micro O, Wing Lines (VAM 5) |
| 133952 | 1899-S Doubled Date (VAM 7) |
| 133953 | 1900 Doubled Wing (VAM 11 or VAM 24) |
| 133955 | 1900-O Doubled Stars (VAM 15) |
| 133956 | 1900-O Die Break (VAM 29A) |
| 133957 | 1900-O/CC (VAM 9) |
| 7268 | 1900-O/CC (VAM 7, VAM 7A, VAM 8, VAM 8A, or VAM 10-12) |
| 7302 | 1901 Shifted Eagle DDR (VAM 3) |
| 133966 | 1902 Doubled Ear (VAM 4) |
| 7306 | 1903-S Small S (VAM 2) |
| 133968 | 1921 Morgan VAM 41 (formerly VAM 1A ) |
| 133969 | 1921 Morgan Wide Reeding |
| 133970 | 1921-D TRU_T (VAM 1A) |