VAM (Morgan And Peace Dollar Die Varieties)
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VAM (Morgan And Peace Dollar Die Varieties)
A VAM is a study of the differences in dies which were used to strike United States Morgan dollar and Peace dollar coins. The acronym "VAM" is taken from the last name of the two people who studied and cataloged the die differences: Leroy Van Allen and A. George Mallis. As a result of VAM studies, a wide assortment of varieties for the two series of coins have been discovered and catalogued. Background Coin collectors were aware of Morgan dollar varieties and differences which were caused by dies. The VAM coins are different than Mint-made errors which are mistakes or defective coins. A VAM occurs as a result of a die variety which creates the same variation on a number of coins. The discovery and cataloging of VAM dollars is concerned with small differences in coins. Leroy Van Allen (VA) and A. George Mallis (M) documented the small variations and VAM comes from the initials of their last names. History There are in more than 3,000 different VAMs however the coin certification ...
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Coining (mint)
Minting, coining or coinage is the process of manufacturing coins using a kind of stamping, the process used in both hammered coinage and milled coinage. This "stamping" process is different from the method used in cast coinage. A coin die (archaically spelt dye) is one of the two metallic pieces that are used to strike a coin, one per each side of the coin. A die contains an inverse version of the image to be ''struck'' on the coin. ''Striking'' a coin refers to pressing an image into the blank metal disc, or planchet, and is a term descended from the days when the dies were struck with hammers to deform the metal into the image of the dies. Modern dies made out of hardened steel are capable of producing many hundreds of thousands of coins before they are retired and defaced. Scissel is the scrap produced in the punching of coin blanks from a continuous strip of metal. Ancient coin dies Prior to the modern era, coin dies were manufactured individually by hand by arti ...
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Morgan Dollar
The Morgan dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1878 to 1904, in 1921, and beginning again in 2021 as a collectible. It was the first standard silver dollar minted since the passage of the Coinage Act of 1873, which ended the free coining of silver and the production of the previous design, the Seated Liberty dollar. It contained 412.5 Troy grains of 90% pure silver (or of pure silver). The coin is named after its designer, United States Mint Assistant Engraver George T. Morgan. The obverse depicts a profile portrait representing Liberty, modeled by Anna Willess Williams, while the reverse depicts an eagle with wings outstretched. The mint mark, if present, appears on the reverse above between D and O in "Dollar". The dollar was authorized by the Bland–Allison Act. Following the passage of the 1873 act, mining interests lobbied to restore free silver, which would require the Mint to accept all silver presented to it and return it, struck into coin. Inste ...
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Variety (numismatics)
This glossary of numismatics is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to numismatics and coin collecting, as well as sub-fields and related disciplines, with concise explanations for the beginner or professional. Numismatics (ancient Greek: , meaning "monetary") is the scientific study of money and its history in all its varied forms. While numismatists are often characterized as studying coins, the discipline also includes the study of other types of money, such as banknotes, stock certificates, medals, medallions, and tokens (also referred to as exonumia). Sub-fields and related fields of numismatics include: * Exonumia, the study of coin-like objects such as token coins and medals, and other items used in place of legal currency or for commemoration. * Notaphily, the study of paper money or banknotes. * Philately, the study of postage stamps. * Scripophily, the study and collection of company share certificates and bonds. A B ...
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Mint-made Errors
Mint-made errors occur when coins are made incorrectly at the mint (facility), mint, including anything that happens to the coin up until the completion of the minting process. Mint error coins can be the result of deterioration of the minting equipment, accidents or malfunctions during the minting process, or interventions by mint personnel. Coins are inspected during production and errors are typically caught. However, some are inadvertently released into circulation. Modern production methods eliminate many errors and automated counters are effective at removing error coins. Damage occurring later (post-mint damage) may sometime resemble true mint errors. Error coins may be of value to coin collecting, collectors depending on the rarity and condition. Some coin collectors specialize in error coins. Errors can be the result of defective planchets, defective dies or the result of mistakes made during striking. The planchet, die, and striking (or PDS) classification system h ...
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Professional Coin Grading Service
Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) is an American third-party coin grading, authentication, attribution, and encapsulation service founded in 1985. The intent of its seven founding dealers, including the firm's former president David Hall, was to standardize grading.Laibstain, Harry. ''Investing, collecting & trading in certified commemoratives: an in-depth analysis of gold & silver issues 1892–1954''. DLRC Press, 1995, p. 1-134. The firm has divisions in Europe and Asia, and is owned by parent company Collectors Universe. PCGS has graded over 42.5 million coins, medals, and tokens valued at over $36 billion. History Established in 1985 by a group of seven dealers, which included David Hall, the former president of the firm, PCGS aimed to create authoritative grading standards with a firm commitment to ensuring the accuracy of grading through guarantees. PCGS began operations on February 3, 1986. The firm has since started grading foreign coins and established divisions ...
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Mint Mark
A mint mark is a letter, symbol or an inscription on a coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced. It is distinct from a mintmaster mark, the mark of the mintmaster. History Mint marks were first developed to locate a problem. If a coin was underweight, or overweight, the mint mark would immediately tell where the coin was minted, and the problem could be located and fixed. Another problem which could occur would be a dishonest mint official debasing the coin, or putting less precious metal in the coin than specified. The first mint marks, called "Magistrate Marks" were developed by the Greeks, and named the Magistrate in charge of producing that coin. Debasing a coin, or otherwise tampering with it, was a very serious crime, often punishable by death in many civilizations. For example, in 1649, the directors of the Spanish colonial American Mint at Potosí, in what is today Bolivia, were condemned to death for seriously debasing the coinage. The initials of the ass ...
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Coins Of The United States
Coins of the United States dollar – aside from those of the earlier Continental currency – were first minted in 1792. New coins have been produced annually and they comprise a significant aspect of the United States currency system. Circulating coins exist in denominations of 1¢ (i.e. 1 cent or $0.01), 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, and $1.00. Also minted are bullion, including gold, silver and platinum, and commemorative coins. All of these are produced by the United States Mint. The coins are then sold to Federal Reserve Banks which in turn put coins into circulation and withdraw them as demanded by the United States economy. Current coinage Four mints currently operate in the United States, producing billions of coins each year. The main mint is the Philadelphia Mint, which produces circulating coinage, mint sets and commemorative coins. The Denver Mint also produces circulating coinage, mint sets and commemoratives. The San Francisco Mint produces regular and silver proof coi ...
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Silver Coins
Silver coins are one of the oldest mass-produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks; their silver drachmas were popular trade coins. The ancient Persians used silver coins between 612–330 BC. Before 1797, British pennies were made of silver. As with all collectible coins, many factors determine the value of a silver coin, such as its rarity, demand, condition and the number originally minted. Ancient silver coins coveted by collectors include the Denarius and Miliarense, while more recent collectible silver coins include the Morgan Dollar and the Spanish Milled Dollar. Other than collector's silver coins, silver bullion coins are popular among people who desire a "hedge" against currency inflation or store of value. Silver has an international currency symbol of XAG under ISO 4217. Origins and early development of silver coins The earliest coins in the world were minted in the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor around 60 ...
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United States Dollar Coins
United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two film * ''The United'' (film), an unreleased Arabic-language film Literature * ''United!'' (novel), a 1973 children's novel by Michael Hardcastle Music * United (band), Japanese thrash metal band formed in 1981 Albums * ''United'' (Commodores album), 1986 * ''United'' (Dream Evil album), 2006 * ''United'' (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell album), 1967 * ''United'' (Marian Gold album), 1996 * ''United'' (Phoenix album), 2000 * ''United'' (Woody Shaw album), 1981 Songs * "United" (Judas Priest song), 1980 * "United" (Prince Ital Joe and Marky Mark song), 1994 * "United" (Robbie Williams song), 2000 * "United", a song by Danish duo Nik & Jay featuring Lisa Rowe * "United (Who We Are)", a song by XO-IQ, featured in the television serie ...
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Coin Collecting
Coin collecting is the collecting of coins or other forms of Mint (facility), minted legal tender. Coins of interest to collectors include beautiful, rare, and historically significant pieces. Collectors may be interested, for example, in complete sets of a particular design or denomination, coins that were in circulation for only a brief time, or coins with mint error, errors. Coin collecting can be differentiated from numismatics, in that the latter is the systematic study of currency as a whole, though the two disciplines are closely interlinked. Many factors determine a coin's value including grade, rarity, and popularity. Commercial organizations offer coin grading, grading services and will grade, authenticate, attribute, and encapsulate most coins. History People have hoarding, hoarded coins for their bullion value for as long as coins have been minted. However, the collection of coins for their artistic value was a later development. Evidence from the archaeologica ...
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