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  Vam Collector Information Vam Defined  Vam Name Defined: The word VAM comes from the authors initial's of the Encyclopedia of Morgans and Peace Dollars by  Leroy C. Van Allen and A. George Mallis = VAM is  Van = V,  Allen = A, and Mallis = M  = VAM.  Van Allen, and Mallis Vam Variety: Morgan or Peace Dollar have varietes these are like errors on the coin.  Rarity of Vams: There are Two Rarity Scales one is The Seldom Scale R-1 common to R-8 Ulra Rare or the Bowers Universal Rarity Scale URS-0 none to URS-20 250001 to 500000 known. In some of my listing usually R-6 Very Rare and above I include the table in the listing. When Using Bower's when a lising is URS-9 to URS-1 I will use for Top 100 Vam's. Top 100 Vam's: Are the Top 100 Vam's to collect and can be very expensive as the grade goes up. The higher the grade the higher the rarity and the premium that you will pay for the coin. Hot 50 Vam's: Another group of vam's which vam collectors are Hot to find. Hit List 40: 40 Vam Varieties that have been added to be difficult to find and expenise to buy. Top 50 Peace Dollar: The 50 best Peace Dollar Vam varieties to collect.    Reference Material 1st. Main Reference: The Encyclopedia of Morgan and Peace Dollars 4th edition by Leroy C. Van Allen and A. George Mallis.  2nd. Reference: Updates to the Encyclopedia of Morgan and Peace Dollars - The New Vam Varieties of Morgan and Peace Dollars 1992-2006, which you can get from Leroy C. Van Allen. 3rd. Reference: The Top 100 Vam Keys by Jeff Oxman and Micheal S. Fey Phd. 4th On Line Reference: Vam World at http://www.vamworld.com/ I highly recommend all my customer to join this web site for great vam infomation. 5th Peace Dollar Reference: SSDC Top 50 Peace Dollar Varieties by Jeff Oxman and Dr David Close  6th Software Reference: There is software available for the top 100 Vam's, 1878 series of coins finding treasures in 1921 Morgan just to name a few good ones. 7th Cherrypickers Guide: Fourth Edition Volume II Half Dime to Modern Dollars by Bill Fivaz and J. T. Stanton       Grading Services that will certify ceritan Vam Varieties PCGS - www.pcgs.com - certifies Top 100, Hot 50, 8TF, 7/8 TF, and Peace Top 50 VAMs, plus a few others. NGC - www.ngccoin.com - certifies Top 100, Hot 50, 8TF, and 7/8 TF VAMs. ANACS - www.anacs.com - certifies any verifiable VAM ICG - www.icgcoin.com - () SEGS - www.segsgrading.com - certifies any verifiable VAM PCI - www.pcicoins.com - certifies any verifiable VAM Vam Attribution What You Need  Good Books like the ones referenced above or go to Vam World on line Good microscope 20X minimum with excellent light make sure to rotate coin so light hits the coin just right to see the vam. When attributing keep in mind the Obverse and Reverse Die Types.  Some varieties you can see with the bare eye, some with eye piece, but it is best to view Vam's with a scope.  Especially when viewing clashed die coins such as clashed Obverse "n" In "s" "t" "D" "O", and reverse "M" etc.  Questions If you have any question of what you need to look at Vam varieties yourself just email me at TerriL02@comcast.net  I hope this was some help thank you.